Thunder Fox
by deputyofkage
Summary: AU. On that night. The Leaf celebrated it's treaty with the Cloud. On that night. The Cloud failed to kidnap Hinata. On that night. The destiny of one Uzumaki Naruto will change forever.
1. Chapter 1: Butterfly in the storm

**THUNDER FOX**

**By Deputy of Kage**

Disclaimer: I don't own NARUTO.I will borrow some Idea from other things but I don't own that too except things that I create myself.

Note: Please bare with my grammar and English. It's just not my thing.

"A": normal speech

'_A_': thoughts

**A **: indicating demonic influence

A/N Honestly,I think that Narutoverse has many flaws and many things in that verse need explanation so I will try my best. Please read and review I will appreciate constructive review or just "good story" should be fine. Flame will be **ignore**. If you have any problem try to suggest other things that's constructive or go read another stories instead of flaming thing you don't like. Last. No yaoi. I read it sometimes if it plausible but I just cant write them

(for now) and **No!**,I can't stand sasunaru. That arrogant bastard should be killed and chopped into thousand pieces by naruto. (I ,too, think that Sakura and her " Sasuke is so great!" is annoying like hell.)

CHAPTER 1: BUTTERFLY IN THE STORM

Fumimaro Raito, the seventh Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village, didn't like this. His 'diplomatic' shinobis just came back from their operation in the Leaf Village with something or rather someone that he didn't order them to retrieve. Some part of him still didn't believe that the Leaf will fall for the obvious trap but he also understand that the Leaf are now in their most desperate condition. After Kyubi has attacked them three years ago and the confusion that lead into their violation of the Lightning Country's neutrality in the war after that has caused the war between the two villages.

Three years of brutal war. The war that now left northern part and coastal area of the Fire country devastated. The war that start to make that country and her shinobi village on the verge of economic collapse. He knew the Leaf's condition well. Their money and shinobi alike start to be sucking dry and soon, he knows, they will lose every thing they have ever achieved since their emergence to power. That why, suddenly, the Leaf has suggested the alliance treaty between the two countries and offered to held the signing ceremony in their own village.

Of course, He jumped in at this opportunity, but not for the same reason as the Leaf. How many times you can send any shinobi you want into the heart of another hidden village that you are with war with anyway.

'_Alliance treaty_' Raito snickered at that thought

'_Like we want to be ally with the village we_ _are nearly defeat_. _Sarutobi, you are older indeed, both body and brain_."

Of all reasons he didn't like the Leaf, aside from their ignorance and their stupidity anyway, is that they have to start the war against the Lightning country when he just take the job as the Raikage for only five months. Being the youngest Raikage in the long history of the Cloud village is not the easy job. Mind you, he just turn 23 when he take the job and surely someone in the village, alright, many of them thought that he didn't ready for the job and to prove that he is worth the title by conducting the war is not easy at all.

To make things even more complicated, just nine months after the war start, they have to defend their 'friendly' samurai countries against another 'hostile' samurai countries that want to take the'friendly' countries away from the Lightning's sphere of influence. Now face with a two front war, he didn't have any choice but to adopted the"Samurai first" strategy. He immediately ordered his troops that occupied the northernmost part of the Fire country to dug into defensive war and use that defensive line to "bleeding the Leaf's army white"

Now, that the war on the Samurai Continent is over and they now gain all of that continent as their satellite states and colonies, they can start the offensive in the war against the Leaf again. But such thing as total surrender of the Leaf need so much resources, the resources they already spend in the conquest and the pacifying of the Samurai Continent. They need to end this war soon so they can consolidate their gains and move on but any things like making an 'honorable' peace with the Leaf is unacceptable in both military and public opinion, for the Leaf has violated their neutrality.

He got a headache at this topic for many weeks but the Leaf's offer has open the opportunity for him. His plan was simple, send his elite Anbu team as an diplomatic representatives then one of them will try to kidnap the Hyuga's heir as a decoy while the others will conduct their true plan, sabotage the Leaf's public utility and important sights of the Leaf and couple that with their troops in the defensive line that has already been reinforced will start a renew offensive against the weakened Leaf's defensive line, surely the Leaf will crumble, being overwhelmed by the Lightning's armies and the destruction within their own village will weaken them greatly. Soon, they will have no choice but to accept his offer for peace, a 'humiliating' peace. He will do everything in his power to make sure that his country will gain everything she want at the expense of the Fire country.

Now, before him was the leader of the operation, one of the Cloud's elite Anbu, Iesawa Hiroshi.

" So you failed to kidnap the Hyuga?" he asked but not taking it seriously, after all, it's just a decoy and he already has another plan for the Hyuga anyway.

" Yes, Raikage-sama, we failed to kidnapped the Hyuga's heir. The Hyuga's clan leader has killed Takeshi (the one who disguised himself as the Cloud Shinobi's leader) but we have accomplished our true mission. Sir."

Raito indeed pleased with this. He just received reports that inform him that the Leaf's defensive lines has been broken and soon his armies will threaten Hinoto, the Fire country's capital or even the Leaf village itself.

"Alright, Iesawa, what about that boy. Why did you kidnap him or to be more specific, how did you kidnap him? Surely the Leaf must guard their demon's vessel at all cost."

Iesawa smiled at that question.

He, alongside with _everyone _in the Cloud village, believed that the fourth Hokage has defeated and killed the Kyubi but his trip to the hidden Leaf village has proved them wrong. When he first saw the boy. He immediately noticed that everyone in the Leaf hate that boy. They scorned him, cursed him with the language that shouldn't be use to a three years old child and that eyes of them. The eyes that show the boy how they hate him with everything in their soul has made even Hiroshi shivered. He asked one of the civilians of the village and that drunken snob surely wanted to share his hate of the boy and how that ' kyubi brat' killed his family.

He knew at that moment that the boy will be the great asset in his village's arsenal, and if he's right

about the boy attitude toward the Leaf by looking at the boy's eyes, that boy will feel gratitude toward

his 'rescuer' from the Leaf. He designed at that moment to kidnap the boy as well and that wasn't a decoy.

" Well, Raikage-sama, you see, the Leaf hate that boy so they avoided him as much as possible. No one want to be his friends or his guardian. You will surprise about the lack of security around him. We kidnapped him very easily. The leaf, indeed, are stupid by making the vessel hate them. He will be our great shinobi."

Raito just didn't believe his luck. He knew, for a long time, that the Leaf is just a stupid village that do nothing but scream for an empty peace but he didn't believe how stupid and ignorance they are.

'_How on earth why they make a demon's vessel, a Kyubi's vessel for everything hate them?_'

But he knew why. They are just scared. Scared and frustrated, at their lost by Kyubi, at their lost by the war against the Cloud and being such an ignorant and arrogant scum they are, they blame the boy for their lost. Raito smiled inwardly

' _Of course, this boy and his demon power will be ours.I will make sure of that myself_ '

"One last question,Iesawa. What's the boy name?"

"Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto"

END CHAPTER 1

A/N Please tell me what you think. I promise I will improve my grammar (if it's possible anyway). In this fic the Leaf violate the Cloud's neutrality because the confusion in their chain of command after the Kyubi's attack and why the Cloud? I will explain later. Until next chapter. BYE.


	2. Chapter 2: Revelation

**THUNDER FOX**

**By Deputy of Kage**

Disclaimer: I don't own NARUTO.I will borrow some Idea from other things but I don't own that too except things that I create myself.

Note: Please bare with my grammar and English. It's just not my thing.

"A": normal speech

'_A_': thoughts

**A **: indicating demonic influence

CHAPTER 2 : REVELATION

If there was one emotion that all humans should avoid, it must be hate. Imagine the feeling that one human has toward another. A feeling that one human doesn't want other human to exist. A firm desire and determination to crush and destroy every aspect of another one's life and soul. An emotion that considered being the ugliest that civilized man could possess. Emotion that will eventually destroy the one who feel it, whether it will destroy the person who received it or not. Ironically, one of the things those make humans stronger, it was hate. Not by feel it but to survive it and Naruto was and is the survivor.

Ever since he could remember, Naruto knew that he didn't like by the others. While other children was loved, have friends to play with, he always be alone. Even when he try to make friends, when he approached the other kids, their parents would get their kids away from him, yelling at him, told him to go away and told their kids to stay away from him. At first he didn't understand, he couldn't understand why all this happen to him, only him. As it turn out, even he still young, he understand that no one like him but his young mind couldn't understand why. He had tried to asked 'Hokage ji-chan' and the old man would just look at him with sad eye and told him that it's alright, everything gonna be okay and he will saw into that but, like many times, it didn't change and he begun to understand that he will be alone and nothing, nothing, even 'Hokage ji-chan, could chang that. And so, Naruto know what is hate like, even he didn't know such thing has existed. If it were another child, he surely would have crack under such circumstance but this was Naruto, and even he's just a mere child, he prove that he's strong, he prove that he could, and would survive, no matter how hard they try to break him down. Now, with Naruto fall into their enemy's hands, the Leaf's time start to running out, the countdown has begun, to the day that their hate will backfire on them and bring them to doom.

In the bedroom in the personal quarter of the Office of the Raikage, no one could imagine that, in there, in the lone bed inside the tiny room, the most powerful demon in the world was there, trapped inside a child. Now that child was starting to wake up, to face his new destiny and what gods and fate have in store for him.

Naruto woke up and suddenly he got a headache. He couldn't remember what happened. All he could remember was that the villagers were celebrated on something and being the little child he is, he wanted to celebrate with them. He ransacked his tiny apartment, tried to find the best cloth he has in his tiny closet. He found an old Yukata that the Hokage bought for him. He dressed and ran into street to celebrate with everyone. Again, everyone ignores him or worse, cursed him, told him that he didn't deserve to celebrate what ever they are celebrated for. So, he did what a three years old boy will did in that situation, he cried and ran away while they were laughing at him. He cried and ran and ran to his apartment, to get away from them, to get away from the hate. He stumbled while trying to reach his apartment, he almost fell the stairs but somehow he reached his room's door. He opened it, expected to see his bed but instead, he saw a lone figure standing in the middle of his bedroom and then, his world went blank. While trying to remember what has happened, a voice suddenly interrupted his thought.

" Ah. I see that you are wake up. I begin to worry, you have been unconscious for four days, you know? I must tell Iesawa later not to use a strong genjutsu on a child"

There, at the door, Naruto saw the owner of the voice. He was a rather young man with short brown hair and rugged handsome face. He wore a white shirt, black pant, and some kind of vest that has the color of the storm cloud. Suddenly, Naruto realized that he wasn't in his bedroom.

"Hey! Where am I! Who are you! Where's Hokage ji-chan! I want to see him!"

" Okay. Okay. Kid. Don't rush. You just woke up, try to slowdown or you'd get a headache"

" Answer my question! Damn it!"

" Hey! Don't be rude. Why don't we introduce ourselves first and I will answer your questions. I'm Fumimaro Raito. What about you?"

" Uzumaki Naruto. Now answer me!"

" Very well then Naruto-kun. I think I have already answered your question about who I am. So, I am very sorry to inform you that you can't see your, well, Hokage ji-chan"

" What! Why! What's going on"

" Well…. To put it simply. You know that Hokage is the title for the person who rule the Leaf village, right?"

Naruto nodded.

" Then how can you see the Hokage if you're in the Cloud village?"

" What!'

With that, Naruto ran to the window. He opened it and what he saw shocked him to no end. Outside the window, lay the city he never saw before. Instead of the buildings he saw in the Leaf, what he saw was buildings that seem more, well, elegant. Instead of built by cement, woods and put everything you want on it, The buildings here was clearly well built. No pipes or fences that out of place. All of them were built solely by concrete or stone and have elegant feature on it that you could feel even from afar. Surrounding the city, was high mountains that has cloud flew past the top.

" You can't open the window when you're dress like this"

Raito said while shutting the window.

" You would get cold. The Cloud village's weather is colder than the Leaf's, you know?"

Narut was shuddered, he began to panic. All he knew is that he was in the foreign village, far away from his home and now, he want to go back to his home, to his Hokage ji-chan.

" Ummm. What's your name again?"

" Raito, Fumimaro Raito"

" Right. Raito-san pleaseeeee. I don't know what you want from me but could you send me back to the Leaf, please"

" Why then. Naruto-kun"

" Huh? What do you mean?"

" I mean, why you want to go back there? To be hated? To let those peoples torment you again? To be alone forever in that place? Tell me, Naruto- kun, why you want to go back there?"

Now, Naruto was shock. He was shock to hear those questions and in his mind he began to shake because he can't answer those questions, no matter how hard he try, he just couldn't find the answer, for Raito, and for himself. Again, being Naruto. He just couldn't give up easily.

" You don't know anything! There… there still ji-chan. At least he's care for me."

" Really? I guest your 'ji-chan' love you very much, that's why he left you alone and do nothing when everybody hate and hurt you"

" No! He promised me. He said that one-day everybody will love me. You know nothing about me!"

Now, Raito was getting annoyed. It's seemed that Naruto was tougher than he's though. So, he decided, at that moment, to reveal a secret, a secret that will surely break him down.

" Naruto-kun. Do you want know a secret?"

" What secret?"

" Secret. Secret, Naruto-kun. Like why they hate you. Do you want to know that secret?"

" What! You know why? Yes! I want to know"

" Hmmm. Do you know about the Kyuubi, the nine tailed demon fox, that attacked your village three years ago?"

" Yeah. I know that. Yondaime-sama sacrificed himself to kill the kyuubi. He's so great! If I'm as good as him then those people will stop hating me and acknowledge me! He's my hero!"

_' So. That's how the Leaf told him. Good, he will have another reason to hate them. Lying to him about himself'_

"Then let me reveal a secret for you. Yondaime didn't kill the kyuubi. Tell you what, no human can kill the kyuubi, your Yondaime just sealed him inside one innocent infant. Can you guest, my Naruto-kun, who's that infant?"

Naruto's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he just heard. No, he couldn't even think about the possibility of that question. Again, Naruto shook, this time harder.

" No! It couldn't be! You're lying! It's impossible!"

" Really? Then, could you tell me why they hate you? Didn't you ever feel strange that why they hate you and only you! I'll tell you, that because inside you are the thing they hate! The demon that destroyed your village! Open your eyes, Naruto-kun, those people will never love you. They hate you, you will be hated, until the day you die"

" No! I don't believe you. You can say anything you want! You don't have any proof!"

" Proof! You want proof, Naruto-kun? Then look at this paper. Then I will proof to you that I'm not lie to you"

Raito said while holding a paper that has the pentagram on it in front of Naruto. Then the paper glowed with strange yellow light and burned itself to ashes.

Suddenly, Naruto found himself lying in some strange corridor with water at the level of his ankle.

_' What's this place? It's look strange, yet I feel it very strangely familiar'_

Naruto walked deeper, he didn't know where he's heading to but something inside him told him to walked deeper and deeper. It's seem that the deeper it get the corridor would get wider, he started to feel that something, inside this dark corridor is calling him, told him to get closer. Then, he found himself in front of the big gate. He tried to look inside but see nothing. He walked closer toward the gate and suddenly, he wished he didn't do it for the thing he saw almost make him want to yell in anguish, to drop to his knees and cry. Raito told him the truth and instead of making him feel relief to finally know the reason for his torment, it made him ached with the pain so severely he thought he would die there, he felt sad, he felt angry but most of all he felt betrayed. The more he thought about what he has to live through, the more it clicked into place. The more he thought, the more he felt betrayed, by the village, by the villagers, by…. Yondaime.

_' How could they! How could they've done this to me? How could he have done this to me? How could they blame me for the things I didn't do? How could they! How could they! How could they! How could…….'_

Naruto opened his eyes and saw Raito, who's looking at him with black eyes so deep he felt it 'll penetrate his soul.

" So you know the truth now. Do you still want to go back to the Leaf village?"

" I..I … if I'm stronger, someday…someday I can make them understand… There …ji-chan…."

Raito smirked. He knew the boy's start to breaking down, those words was his last straw that still left between him and the Leaf. Raito smirked more and crushed that straw.

" Let me tell you, Naruto-kun. Those people will never love you, they will never acknowledge you, no matter how hard you try. For them you are a demon, not it's vessel. They will do everything to make sure you will be weak and suffered. If you want to get stronger so they will acknowledge you, fine, that's good. But hear me this, once you're stronger then you're not weak, then you'll become a threat and they'll kill you at that moment before you'll get stronger, without slightest hesitation nor mercy. After all, for them, you are nothing but demon, kids, fort them you aren't even human. As for the Hokage. Don't you think if he's truly care for you, why doesn't he take care of you or find you a family or at least send you away from that hell-hole place? Of course, I know he tried to stop the hate but think again, he's the leader of the village, if he's tried enough, then he can stop the hate but, again, the hate didn't stop, did it? He never cares for you, Naruto-kun. For him you're just a demon, a great weapon they could have. He look after you because he just want to check you to make sure you're not a threat to his 'beloved' village. If you get stronger, some of those people might attack you and then you have to defend yourself and hurt them then, you will be a threat to his village and he surely will have you kill. Open your eyes Naruto those people never love you and never will be. If you stay there, someday they'll kill you"

With those words, the words that reveal him the truth he never dares to thing about. Naruto began to cried, not just a sob like a child will do when he fell to the floor and hurt himself but an anguished cry that a man will do when he lost everything. For Naruto he cried because he had lost his life, because he lost the only thing he's clung on so he won't fall. He cried because he now knows that his entire life was just a lie, a lie that piles on top of another lie. He cried because he has lost any purpose that he had in his life. He cried because he knew that from now on he'll have nothing, his life will be empty, worthless life. He cried for his crushed dream, for his crumbling life, for the dream that he will never achieve, for the faith he's lost, for determination that disappear by those lies, for the respect for those people that now faded away. The more he cried, the more he felt pain. The more he felt pain, the more he got angry. The more he got angry, the more he felt those dark, malicious emotion start growing in the back of his mind.

Raito just smiled, an almost fainted smile, as he watched the boy cried. He kneed beside the boy and embraced him and talked to him with kind words and soft voice.

" Don't worry, Naruto-kun. Everything gonna be alright. I promise you, everything gonna be alright"

On that day, with those anguished cries that fills the tiny room inside the Clound village, with those kind words and soft voice, the fate of the Hidden Leaf Village has been sealed.

END CHAPTER 2

A/N Isn't Raito a little bit evil? Damn! Those conversations were hard to write. I know, I know, not much action but I just have to write this so it will be more realistic why Naruto will fight for the Cloud and abandon the Leaf beside it's just two chapters. There still more to come. Though, there sill be more two or three foundation chapters before I will start the real story ( SPOIL! I already have a plan for Wave country mission!) I will explain more about the Cloud village in the next chapter. Tell you what, I just want to write one or two explanation chapters to explain everything and then just go on with the story but well, it just not gonna work, right? Honestly, this chapter is not as good as I thought, I have to rewrite this so many times to finish it and I still didn't satisfy but this is the best I could do. My Grammar still suck and I think that the story didn't flow well. Well, please, read and tell me what you think, reviews will be good so I can know what you think and maybe I can get some ideas from it, who knows? Last, thank for all the review and everyone who read it, 7 reviews is some what surprise me, I expect that no one will review or read it at all. Until next chapter! WALKING ON THE CLOUD (I just have the name but didn't write anything, strange, HUH?)


	3. Chapter 3: WALKING ON THE CLOUD

**THUNDER FOX**

**By Deputy of Kage**

Disclaimer: I don't own NARUTO.I will borrow some Idea from other things but I don't own that too except things that I create myself.

Note: Please bare with my grammar and English. It's just not my thing.

"A": normal speech

'_A_': thoughts

**A **: indicating demonic influence

CHAPTER 3 : WALKING ON THE CLOUD

When Naruto woke up again, he's still confused at all the things that just happened. Suddenly, he found himself

in a foreign village, betrayed by his own and now, he was lost. He remembered crying himself to sleep and now, sitting on the bed, he didn't know what to do next. Fortunately, it seemed that Raito had prepared everything for him. That why, suddenly, a servant carrying a tray full of food came into the room and put it on the table by the window.

" This is your breakfast, Uzumaki-san. Bathroom is behind that door. I suggest you should hurry up. Fumimaro-sama will come to see you in 30 minutes"

The man said while opening the window and before Naruto could talk to him, he's already left, as fast as the time he came in. Naruto sighed and walked to the table to see what he has for breakfast. He expected to see some toast and a glass of milk, his usual breakfast, but instead, he saw a bowl of rice, a bowl of hot miso soup, some kind of steamed fish and a pot of hot tea. Naruto stared at the food like it was a moon rock. Never in his young life had he ate food this luxurious. The closest thing he got is when the old man treated him at the Ichiraku ramen bar. Most of the time, his supposed 'guardian' would use his allowance to bought instance ramen and only instance ramen he ate. It was the only thing that his little income could afford to feed him until the next allowance come in next month. His stomach growled by the smelled of the food but he knew he must clean himself first because he didn't do that for three days.

Naruto dropped his Yukata and walked into the bathroom. In there he found that everything has been prepared for him, towels, soap, shampoo, sponge, name it, they got it all in there. When he got out from the bathroom, he found that his Yukata was gone, replaced it was a clean cloth neatly folded on the chair, nothing luxurious, just a pair of gray thick shirt, black trouser, black jacket, socks and shoes. Naruto was surprised, he didn't hear anyone was in the room while he took shower. His stomach growled again so he just wore it, brushing aside his curiosity for the sake of his stomach.

When he took the first bite, he though he would die by it taste alone. He ate and ate and ate, drowning in the taste of the first proper food in his life and in his mind, he swore not to eat instance ramen ever again in his life. It seemed that he's drowning himself too deep because when he looked up from the dishes, he saw two men sitting across him, stared at him with amusement clearly in their eyes.

" It's good right? Taro-san is one of the best chefs in this village. I'm lucky to have him work for me."

Raito said while the man beside him chuckled softly. Naruto tried to swallow the food but choking himself in the process.

" Yeah. It's very good. I never eat something so delicious like this before!"

"Really? That's good. Taro-san will be pleased to hear that. He loves to have people compliment him. By the way, what will you gonna do now? Go back to the Leaf?"

Now, Naruto was lost again. He forgot about the food, about the men sat across him while he tried to find the answer. His head hung low while his brain was rampaged itself. Raito just smiled, somewhat glad to see the boy was at his lost.

_' If I can pull it right. We will have the boy at our disposal. Hmmm.. Let see'_

" OH! Don't worry Naruto-kun. You have been through a lot these days. You should relax so you could think clearly. That why I bring this man with me. His name's Iesawa Hiroshi. He will be your tour guide for today"

Naruto stared at the older man who sat beside Raito. He nodded and the man just nodded in return, saying nothing.

" Tour guide?"

" Yes, tour guide. Like I said, you should relax and today seem to be a nice day. It's warm and sunny, which is unusual for this season in our country so Iesawa here will show you our village. Go clean yourself a bit before we leave, alright?"

Naruto nodded and started walking to bathroom, knowing he couldn't do anything to get himself out of this. When Naruto was in the bathroom and out of earshot, Raito turned to Iesawa.

" Take good care of him, try to make him feel good alright, Iesawa. When I'm done with my work, I'll join you two. Two anbus out there…" Raito nodded at the direction of the door. " …will secretly accompany you. They will report everything to me, the same as you at the end of this day, of course. Have fun then, considered it as your day off, which you got pay for"

" Are you sure about this, I mean, we should keep him in this room for another day or two, you know, to make sure about 'him'. Beside, you should think more thoroughly before you do something as important as this, like let the vessel of the great demon walking around freely. I already told you about that"

Raito just looked at him with eye full of surprise that make him bowed and quickly apologized for his 'manner'. Iesawa cursed at himself for letting himself acted like in the old time. Even Raito was once have been put in his anbu team and under his command but the young man in front of him was not the young, excited, just-promoted-to-chunin anbu trainee anymore. This man now is the Raikage, head of his village and not only his commander but also the Supreme Commander of the Lightning country's military. Raito just smiled.

" Don't worry about that, Iesawa. I'm quite sure he's ready and stop apologize already! You have the right to concern but watch your manner, especially if we're in public. You're lucky we're in private. Though I don't mind but others? I'm doubt"

With that Raito walked out, leaving his former captain in the empty room. At that moment, Naruto decided that he was clean enough so he walked out from the bathroom and stood in front of Iesawa, looking around.

" Heh! Where's Raito-san"

Iesawa just sighed. What's wrong with showing the boy his village anyway? Beside, it was his idea in the first place.

" Boy! Are you ready for the day?"

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

To say Naruto was bored is the understatement. He and Hiroshi (the guy just told him to call him by his first name) have strolled down the street for one hour now and he just bored. They had made stop here and there but most of the time they just walking around aimlessly.

Of course, he was excited about seeing foreign place and he could see many differences that this village has from the Leaf. There are no shops or restaurants around. No children running or some housewives gather around for some gossip at the shop. What he saw is columns of gray stone buildings after another, no commercial signs or posters could be seen on it. The street was mostly deserted and amazingly clean. There're few peoples walking around and he could see that mostly of them were shinobi.

To say it bluntly, this place is weird! And after Hiroshi finished explain to him about some place that he didn't understand at all, Naruto decided that he has had enough.

" Hiroshi-san, your village is weird!"

" What do you mean?"

" I mean, where are the shops! Where're restaurants! Where're peoples! I'm bored!"

" OH! I know what you mean! Of course! There's no shops or restaurants here. This is the Military Sector. Most of the shops and other places are in the Civilian Sector of the village. Only ninja and people who have duty here could enter this sector that's why you couldn't see many people here. Beside, it's working hour so almost everyone's working in the buildings. I'm so sorry Naruto-kun, I should know that you will be bored here. Let's go to Civilian Sector then and have some fun!"

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

They said that time flew quickly if you're thrilled and Naruto was thrilled. Hour passed by, almost too quickly for the blonde boy. He and Hiroshi did many things today. They went shopping, saw a movie, eating out, and went to a game arcade. For many kids, it was just a typical family day when they would go out with their family but for Naruto, it was the first time that someone has took him out and make sure that he has fun. He saw many things that would make a little kid like him jaw dropping in awe. There're big shopping centres that could easily put the biggest one in the Leaf in it. There're parks that not just a garden with some benches in it. Hell! They even have a fountain that has the side of a small lake! Even all the buildings were old but you couldn't say that this people were lacking in term technologies! There're big screen TV, bigger than any that he could remember back in the Leaf. The commercial signs were illuminated with lights and even moving pictures! But the thing that made Naruto happy is that there is no cold stare direct at him, no mean words talking or whispering behind his back or even at his face. That allow Naruto to relaxed and he could even played with other children! For Naruto, it was the best day of his life!

When the sun was nearly set. The two found themselves sitting in the sky deck of the tallest building in the village. The city before them was glowing with lights from houses, buildings and commercial screens. It was the beautiful sight that Naruto found himself falling in love with.

" So, kid. Did you have fun today?"

Hiroshi asked and was beamed back by the blonde's wide smile.

" Yeah! I have a lot of fun today! Your village is not weird. It's great! I love it! There many things I never see before! Like those big TV screens or that..that weird long boxes that could run very fast!"

" What boxes? I couldn't understand"

" Well.. you know. That big, long, black boxes! The one that people hop in and out from it and it run very fast?"

" Oh! You mean train rights?. Yeah, that's it. It's just a train. No big deal"

" No big deal? You're kidding me! It's the most amazing thing I ever see! We don't have it in my village!"

" It's because we are the only one who got it. Like I said, it's no big deal" Hiroshi said teasingly but our always curious blonde just couldn't let it go.

" Then how come you're the only one who got it"

" It's because we have the technology to build it. That's why"

" You know what? Hiroshi-san, you are such a weird man!"

" OH! COME ON! KID! Don't act like some ungrateful brat! It's a long story and you will just get bored"

" I can take it! I'm not brat!"

" OK! You ask for it. How they start this in history class? All right, listen up. If you sleep, you must pay for all the food you eat today! It's start with this. Once upon a time. Long, long time ago. The world is not like this. There're hundreds of cities filled with millions of peoples and buildings that almost touch the sky. Human has built many great machine and achieved technologies and knowledge beyond our imagination. In that time, we could talk to another people continents away like they just sit across the table from us. We could travel for hundreds of kilometers in just a blink of an eye. By magnificent machine, we could fly, higher and higher, until we could even reach the moon and beyond. It was the time of greatness. It was the world of peace and prosperity. It was the age of advances. Then, out of no where, war started. We don't know why but all we know is that at some point in that time, Great countries started turning against each other, competed furiously for wealth and power. With that they brought smaller countries into their sphere, building their own camp, divided the world in to blocs. When the war started, it was the greatest war in human's history. Cities after cities were left in ruins. Millions upon millions, soldiers or not, died. The land, see and sky were filled with war machines. Then they used 'it', the greatest weapon that technology could produce. By using just one of it, great city was destroyed by just the blink of an eye but there wasn't just one of it. You see, there was thousands of it and they used it, without thinking of consequences. It was estimated that almost 2/3 of population was death by the bombs and the aftermath of the war. With the releasing of the weapon at the same time, the Earth couldn't take it. The ground start to shook, mountains exploded and the oceans were in chaos. After that catastrophic, by human and by nature, the word has changed beyond recognition. Continents sunk to the ocean floor. New lands arise from the see. And for human? We lost everything"

Hiroshi stopped to catch his breath. He watched Naruto. The blond boy's eye were filled with awe and excitement, much like himself when he was this age and heard the story for the first time. He smiled, remembered all of the old memories and continued.

" Thousand of years passed. The Earth was finally healed and human civilization has started to rise from the ashes of the destroyed one. In this region, which called ' The lands of the rising sun'. The group of people has come to power in the northwest continent in which today we called the Samurai Continent. They wield the art called Bushido and called themselves Samurai. By using their great weapon skill and marital arts, they conquered the continent and established their way there. Years later they came to this continent and after the brief resistant, they conquered it too. For centuries they ruled this continent, unite it and taught us their living and culture, we began to prosper. Then, their rule came to an end. New group of people has come to power in the south. Unlike Samurai, these people use the forces of nature and even super natural one to fight. They called their skill, Onmyou. They are the Onmyou sorcerers. The Samurai retreated to their continent, leaving a united continent for the sorcerers to rule. These people, the sorcerers, have desire for the ancient knowledge and technology. Many of them began traveling around the world, searching for it. After 300 years of their rules, they have possessed technologies and knowledge that of our ancestor. They began using it to build military forces and then conquered many lands. Even few samurai warlords have come under their rule. But by searching for technology, they have deserted their subjects. For generations, they ruled with iron fist, sucking money for their own not for the people. And then, like a cycle, new people emerged. These people, combing the art of Bushido with the art of Onmyuo, called themselves Ninja, using the arts of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu and Genjutsu. Tired of the Onmyou's harsh rule the continent has revolted against them. The sorcerers, already declining in number and power retreated to the Northland and thus, their continental empire was broke apart into many pieces and groups of shinobi started fighting each other, for power and land. While retreating to the north, in fear of extinction by the shinobi, the Onmyou's leader has concluded a deal with a group of people. If those people would protect them, they will give all of their knowledge, military forces as well as the oversee possessions that still left and will allow those people to establish a country south of Northland. So, the Lightning country and the Cloud village were established. We are the oldest country and hidden village in the world. While other villages still fought for their existence, we have firmly established ourselves. Being the successor state of the Onmyou Empire, we're inherited their knowledge and technologies as well as the growing sea borne empire. We are….. Kid? Naruto-kun? HEY!"

Hiroshi seemed to be a good storyteller because even before he finished the story, Naruto was sound asleep. Hiroshi was thinking how he would wake the kid up when he heard the sound behind him.

" Let him sleep! I think that he's very tired. Let him rest before dinner time"

Hiroshi spun around in surprise. He found that the sky deck was empty and at the lift, stood Raito and two anbus that 'secretly' accompanied him all day long. Raito just walked to Hiroshi and told one anbu to bring Naruto back to his quarter and inform the servant to wake him up when Raito return to the Office. After that, he told another anbu to leave and sat beside Hiroshi.

" Let's talk a bit, in private, alright?"

Hiroshi just nodded. The two sat in silent for a while. Raito looking at the city, Hiroshi waited for Raito to start.

" What do you think about the kid"

" He's just a normal three years old boy but at the same time I can see potential in this kid. Not just because the demon but a potential like I could see in you when you were in my team. He's a kind of rough diamond"

" Really? That'll be very interesting. Even some of the Chief still have doubt in him"

" I conclude that you told your Joint of Staff about the boy then?"

" Yes, I told them. At first they doubted about our safety but I told them that Chief Madarame, our seal expert, has inspected the seal herself and she told them that the seal's far too strong for the youkai to break free by itself. She told them that if the boy don't let the fox take control over him willingly then the fox can't do that. It's that simple. She also told me something about some super natural power involving the sealing process but I just zoned out. All in all, even she told them that, they still got some doubt but they agreed about letting him in. The power of the youkai is just too much to turn this opportunity down. I suppose"

Hiroshi was relieved, he has begin to like the boy and want to see him grow into something great but knowing Raito and the nature of his village far too well. His mind just somewhat worried about the boy. He has to ask.

" So what next do you have in mind. Train him to be a ruthless, mindless, perfect killing machine?"

Raito laughed, to Hiroshi surprised. He didn't see Raito laugh like this for age.

" As much as I want to do that but no. If we do that, he will end up hating us all. The Leaf has treated him bad enough. No, that wouldn't do it. Ruthless? Maybe. It's a good quality in every good shinobi. We just treat and train him good then we'll have a loyal shinobi to use in the future. The Demon of the Cloud? Hiroshi, this is surely a chance of a lift time! And we will use it to our full advantage. The Leaf will regret about this even in their grave"

" So, we will train him good. That simple?"

" That simple. Haven't you ever heard that simplicity is one of the good virtues?"

" Yes and I'm sure that hate is not the good one too"

" Hiroshi. Hiroshi. Who said I hate them? Distrust maybe but hate! That's insulting! Oh! I almost forgot! I just received message from our _beloved _Daimyo. It's from our diplomatic at the peace conference. The Leaf has accepted all of our terms. The Third Great Shinobi War is formally over"

" Should I be happy? Raikage-sama. According to all of our terms, we will have hard works waiting for us"

" Speaking of hard work. I just decided that you will be the brat's trainer. Want it?"

" What!"

With that the two former teammates started walking to the lift. Different thoughts were inside their heads. For Hiroshi, it was how he would train the demon possessed boy. For Raito, it was the course of his village's future moves.

If only the Leaf could knew what's inside his head…………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Seven years could be a long time for some people but for some it just not that long. Seven years after the end of the Third Great Shinobi War in the Shinobi continent was surely a time full of hard works. Be it to restore the village or something else. As for Naruto, well, somehow it end up with him stood panting, his back was a few inches away from the kunai stucked wall. In front of him, his sensei just stood there, kunais in his hand and he wore a smile that somehow send Naruto a chill down his spine.

" Now. Now. Naruto-kun. Don't look at me like that. Avoiding these kunais shouldn't be that hard"

" It's hard when you can move only in this circle the side of your feet and do it for two hours. Beside, Iesawa sensei. This is my graduation day. Shouldn't I be allowed some rest for today?"

Hiroshi just stared at ten years old Naruto and smirked and suddenly, he threw all the kunais in his hand toward the boy. Naruto saw it coming and like before, Naruto just jumped. His body began to twitch in the air in some acrobatic move, avoiding all kunais and landed perfectly in the circle.

" What for? There's no party for you. You just go there, meet your genin team commander and then maybe come back. Why would I waste your training time for such an unimportant day like this?"

When Hiroshi finished talking, he watched at the time and then, smirked more.

" Well, Naruto-kun. This day seem to be your lucky day. The training is over, for now. Go clean yourself and eat breakfast and hurry up! Or you will be late for your graduation day"

Naruto just walked out, while talking to himself about his sadistic sensei.

_' Maybe if I become genin, he will reduce his training a bit. That sadistic bastard, always be there to torture me through his torture fest called training'_

When Naruto entered the class, he walked to his friends and teammates without paying any attention toward some comments about his sweaty state.

" Damn! You look like you ran all the way here"

Kawada Katsuo commented at his teammate. Like Naruto, the tall kid has blonde hair but his is somewhat more like a sand color. He wore a black khaki, black shirt and gray combat vest, like all the graduation class. He met Naruto personally one academic year ago when he was place as the blonde teammate, which mean that they will be teammate for their last year at the Academy, which also surely mean that they will be teammate until their promotion to chunin. At first, Katsuo doesn't like the shorter blonde. He lives with his uncle and has to drag himself hard in his academic years so he could be one of the best. For him, Naruto was a reminder for one thing that he didn't like, privilege. While he has to train by himself with only his uncle occasionally as his mentor before he entered the Academy. Naruto has been trained by Iesawa Hiroshi, one of the best ninja in the village and sometimes even the Raikage himself not to mention many of the Staff. They didn't get along well first, partly because Katsuo's pride and partly because Naruto's oblivious of the situation. The blonde kid was tried hard to be friendly to his future genin teammate but Katsuo's snubs has made the situation worse. Soon, tension in their team was ran high and their assignments have suffered. Only after that that they could make peace with each other even only because they didn't want their third teammate to get into trouble because of them. Months passed and time surely heal everything. Naruto has come to behave more concerned and put more respect toward Katsuo, while Katsuo's has changed his mind about Naruto's privilege after he saw what Naruto has to endure everyday.

" Yeah, Katsuo. I ran all the way here. That bastard chose the time that I must run if I want to be here on time"

" Righttttt. You poor baby. Are you tired, _Naruto-kun_?"

Katsuo said mocking the way Iesawa called Naruto.

" Stop that, Beachboy, or I will tell Iesawa sensei that you want to train with me everyday!"

" Hey! That's cheating. Who on earth want to be train by that sadistic bas- man!"

" Whatever! Where's Tsubaki-chan? I don't see her and it's almost time!"

Katsuo pointed at the classroom back corner.

" Don't worry. She's there. Care to escort her here?"

Naruto walked to the direction his teammate told him. There, at the corner of the room, his female teammate crouched. Her long black hair tied by some weird orange….matter. When Naruo watched across her head to see what she's watching at, he developed a sweat on the back of his head. She watched worm eaten by ants! Of all the three, Madarame Tsubaki was the quietest. Being a the only child of Chief Madarame Tsubame, the Chief of the Onmyuo's affair and Atsukawa Mamoru, one of the best anbu in the village has make her skill in both Nindo and Onmyou one of the best in the class. She's a pretty girl with long raven black hair and beautiful green eye. She could make any boy falling for her if not because of her behavior. Even at their fighting state, one of the few things that Naruto and Katsuo was mutually agreed is that their female teammate is weird and scary! To her mother's disdain, Tsubaki has developed a liking of horror movies, sick, disgusting SM novel and blood. She could watch it for hours and her giggle when she read her novel has frightened people for no end. Surprisingly, after spending time with his sensei, Naruto could amazingly talk to her without a bit of fright. For him, she's better than his sensei. At least she do it only to insects.

"Ummm. Tsubaki-chan. We should sit at our table now. Pakkun could be here in any minutes"

Pakkun was the nickname that his class gave to their class sensei. The man got the biggest eye that could pop out of his head if you bang it right and he could bark so loud that he feared that he could be deaf after it. Right after Naruto sat on his table, Pakkun entered the room carrying a big box and began to bark.

" ALL RIGHT CLASS! THIS IS YOUR GRADUATION DAY. IN THIS BOX IS YOUR FOREHEAD PROTECTORS. THIS IS NOT OVER YET KIDS. THIS DAY MEAN NOTHING. YOU'RE JUST A GENIN. A MERE TRAINEE. IT'S TWO YEARS FROM NOW ON THAT WILL DECIDE THAT YOU WORTHY TO BE A SHINOBI OR NOT. IN THIS LIST, THERE'RE PLACES THAT YOU WILL MEET YOUR TEAM COMMANDER. BE THERE ON TIME! GOOD LUCK!"

With that loud blessing of his, Pakkun left, leaving many genins cringed in pain behind.

" Sooooooo. Who do you think they will put to be our team sensei?"

Naruto asked his teammates, his voice filled with hope and determination. It was utterly destroyed when they walked into their designated place and he saw one man standing there.

" Helloooooo. _Naruto-kun_. See? This day is just a waste of time. Now. About your first mission"

Naruto just want to bang his head. Of all the people, the Committee has to assign Hiroshi to be his team sensei! Now this man can torture him everyday! Katsuo swallowed nervously, knowing this man too well.

" ERR. Hiroshi sensei. Why don't we introduce each other first?"

" For what? Beachboy. I know you. You know me. No need for lame introduction. Beside, I got an interesting and exciting mission for you. After all, you three are the no.1 genin team of this year"

" What mission?" Katsuo asked. Exciting about his first mission.

" Like I said it's interesting and exciting. If you consider six hours shift guarding the village secondary gate number 3 interesting and exciting!"

Hiroshi smiled, his head filled with all the things he could make this kids do while the three genins just stared at their new sensei, uncertain for their future.

END CHAPTER3

A/N WOW! This maybe the longest chapter of this story. Sorry volk for the long update. The exam is coming and will start this Monday and I will not be able to write anything for one month long! T T Damn! I hate this school and their exam system must go to hell! I want to write something about ninja, samurai, Japanese sorcerers for a long time(reading X-1999). So I put everything I like here. Maybe this is too much for you reader! (Hiding in the blanket. Please don't kill me) For the tech thing. I just have to write it! It's that dream of mine! One day I read all the Naruto manga and then watch some program about WW2. You know what I dream that night? A German tanks firing it bullets at the Hokage's faces. BE29( correct?) flew above the Leaf releasing it deadly cargoes and the best is Kisame running on the water trying to flee from the Royal Navy's barrage! It was surreal so damn good that I have to put it in here. Don't worry there will be no laser gun, satellite guided missiles or aegis cruiser here. I don't know, maybe this tech thing will never appear in the story at all. Somehow I think I make the Lightning too powerful but heh! Look at the real world! The history thing is the best I could get at it. It was awful! I think my English improve a bit but so far I'm from the country that has one of the lowest efficiency in English in the world! BOW in shame! There will be one more filler then I will start the Wave. You may see the Cloud shinobi's true nature in this!

Again Thank to all reviewer! I have to think the way to destroy Konoha first before this story end. I got almost 2000 hits! WOW! But the readers reduce in the second chapter! T T THANK YOU THANK YOU . ALL THE REVIEWERS AND ALL THE READERS! PEACE AND MAY SASUKE DIE A SHAMEFUL DEATH!

P.S. If you stop reading this story, I don't blame you. Sometimes I just want to stop myself.


	4. Chapter 4: A Time to kill

**THUNDER FOX**

**By Deputy of Kage**

Disclaimer: I don't own NARUTO.I will borrow some Idea from other things but I don't own that too except things that I create myself.

Note: Please bare with my grammar and English. It's just not my thing.

"A": normal speech

'_A_': thoughts

**A **: indicating demonic influence

CHAPTER 4: A TIME TO KILL

"Where is that pig! We're here for 3 damn hours now!"

Katsuo shouted while pacing around the clearing. He was the type that didn't like to wait for a long time, which was the opposite of his teammates. While Naruto could be loud at some point and Tsubaki couldn't pass a chance to turn her fight into a bloody mess if she can, the two knew well about the important of patience. In Naruto's case, it was because it was the only way to survive his training and for Tsubaki's, it was because Onmyou skill require concentration on mind instead of chakra.

"Come on Katsuo! Stop pacing around. It's annoying!"

Naruto shouted at his teammate. The three of them was in the storage yard in the back of the 4th Weaponry Centre. Naruto was sitting on the cement floor, leaning back on one of the many boxes and Tsubaki was sitting on the box beside him.

"How could I be patient? That bitch told us that we would just guard these boxes for just one hour and she will come back and we can go. Now look at the time! It was three damn hours ago!"

"You shouldn't talk about client like that, Katsuo-kun. Just sit down and relax. More hours mean more money. Remember?"

"RELAX! RELAX! Tsubaki-chan! How could I relax in this place? Who know what's inside these boxes? There could be tons of bombs here and you told me to relax? Women these day…."

Before he could finish, kunai flew pass his head, few millimeters from his ear and embedded itself on the wall in front of him. Katsuo didn't feel frightened or anything like that but more of a surprise, if you want to be specific. Training under Iesawa Hiroshi, you couldn't allow yourself to be frightened by just a kunai flew pass your head if your sensei made you walk on the electric enhanced floor to teach you how to deal with electricity.

He turned around to see his teammates. Tsubaki just smiled and Naruto just shrugged, both have innocent eyes and faces. He couldn't know which one of them that threw a kunai. It could be Tsubaki because he brought up the women subject or it could be Naruto because he was getting annoyed. Katsuo just sighed and walked to his teammates, even that he was still nervous about sitting so close to these boxes.

"How could you two just sit here and do nothing? Don't you feel bored or anything?"

Katsuo asked but didn't expect any answer from his teammates. Really, he just wanted to talk. Tsubaki wasn't the kind to start a conversation and that left only the other blond as Katsuo's ' talking buddy'. Naruto may not be the quiet person but he wasn't talkative either but for Katsuo, that was enough and better than the ' just stop abruptly' Tsubaki.

Naruto just shrugged at the question.

"Why bother? We can't go anywhere else until Hiromi-san is back here anyway. At here, with many boxes around, we couldn't do much"

"Yeah. I think you're right but don't you get…."

Again, before he could finished the sentence, he stopped, but now because he saw that the two that was sitting before him have something in their ears and there are wires….

"YOU BASTARD! You let me walked around like idiot while you two listening to music! I don't believe this!"

Katsuo was angry at his teammates. He swore that sometimes these two just made him want to strangle them. Tsubaki just turned away, not paying any attention to the tallest of the three while Naruto snorted.

"Stop shouting! Damn it! You're even louder than me. It's not my false that you spend all your money on those mangas and you couldn't buy a new headset. Behold! Toyo G21 headset! Small and fully functioned with normal walky-talky mode with more than 1 km radius plus radio, music collector and wireless headphone! Take my advice Katsuo. Buy this. You're the only genin that still didn't have it. Even Hiroshi sensei bought it"

"HAH! Why should I? You materialist excuse of a ninja"

"Interesting. This coming from the kid who spend all his money on every mangas in the world"

"Why you.."

But before the two could go any further, their teammate came to a rescue, like many times.

"I wonder…" she said. Both boys turned to her. Tsubaki looked at the boys then at the boxes, smiled evilly and shrugged as if thinking that it's not good enough. " …Where is Hiroshi sensei?"

Katsuo just sighed in relief. Whatever came in her brain at that moment was at best keep it in her brain. It was Naruto that answered her question.

"I don't know. He told me that we could go home when the mission is over. Well, you know, he said something like ' I don't care what you three got in your mind. I have more important business to do today than watching you three do this mission so just go on and go home or anyplace on this planet that you want. Just meet me tomorrow at the same place and the same time' and he just walked off"

Katsuo joined in the conversation. He just couldn't pass the chance to insult his sadistic sensei.

"Yeah. I bet that he really doesn't care. Maybe this is a set up, you know? There could be a time bomb somewhere around here so that bastard could get our money while he blame us about the bomb"

"Don't talk about our sensei like that, Katsuo-kun. You should feel good that he has confidence in us so he let us do this mission alone"

Truly, Tsubaki really like her sensei. The two share the same 'attitude' and many of the habits, although that she didn't like the fact that she was on the receiving end of it. Katsuo just about to retort when Naruto interrupted him.

"I'm hungry now. When would Hiromi-san come back? There is a dim sum festival in the civilian sector today and I don't want to miss it"

Naruto said out of nowhere, changing the subject completely. A habit that he picked up from Raito.

"Well, maybe soon. It's noon already so she must come back very, very soon. But know what? I think that Hiroshi sensei must be sitting in some bar now. Relaxing and thinking about the money and how our corpses will look like. Yeah, that sound more like that bastard"

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

True to Katsuo's words. Iesawa Hiroshi was now sitting but he wasn't in the bar and was far from relaxing. He was sitting in the Raikage's office and in front of the said Raikage. His tea was left cold while the man sitting in front of him just sipped it while reading Hiroshi's report about his genin team ( Naruto).

If you could ask the sadistic man, he will tell you how bad he hate this moment. Normally, the M.D.C will send him a message about the mission that his genin team has been assigned to do about a day or two before the mission start. This time, however, there was a message in the files about the mission at the 4th Weaponry Centre that told him to meet the Raikage about his team's next mission. Now this couldn't be good. Even that Naruto was currently under his command, Raito never, _never_ do the mission assignment unless that it's very important. This could only mean two things, considered that Naruto was also Raito's apprentice, either that the mission was really important or it must be _that_ mission. But he couldn't do much, all he could do now was wait, wait and wait until Raito finished reading and it seemed that it would take a long time.

Raito was tried hardly to hide his smile. He had finished reading Hiroshi's report for a long time now but watching that man sitting there nervously and frequently shifted his position was just too fun to end it. Well, all parties have to end anyway.

"Hmm. It's seemed that Naruto has improved very well. You have done a great job, Iesawa"

Raito's words have snapped Iesawa from his nervousness. Much to Raito's amusement, the man was stumbled a bit before he could answer his commander.

"Thank you, Raikage-sama but it was not only me. You also done a great deal in training that boy too"

"Hah! Humility, ain't it? You know what the real deal is, so don't try to make it like you don't worth the compliment. More tea?" Again, changing subject. A habit that Hiroshi regretted that he didn't do anything to change it while he could.

"No thank you, Raikage-sama. About the mission…" But Raito didn't hear him or actually didn't listen to him. He just pushed the button on his desk.

"Keiko-chan, could you please bring us more tea? Oh, and also bring in that mission file with you too, OK?"

Even before Raito finished, a young woman opened the door and brought more tea for her tea-addicted boss and of course the mission file.

"Anything else, Raikage-sama"

The woman said, tiredness was clearly in her voice. Hiroshi just couldn't help himself but felt sympathy toward one of Raito's secretaries but also he must admitted that Raito was very smart, pushing all that boring, unimportant paper works to his secretaries like that.

"Don't you think that she look tired? Well, maybe it's time that I must hire more secretaries"

Raito said innocently, making Hiroshi frowned. Again, to Raito's amusement. Hiroshi just read the file, and of course, his fear became true. The more he read, the more he felt worse and worse. He didn't even know that he drank all of his cold tea, he didn't care that it's cold or he would choke. You could say many things about Iesawa Hiroshi, how good a shinobi he is, a shinobi with a twisted, tortured sense of humor but you couldn't say that he didn't care about his men. He looked up from the file, his eye met with the indifferent in his commander's.

"Are you sure they're ready for this? Raikage-sama. They just graduated for half year"

Raito's eyes narrowed a bit, indicated that he didn't like Iesawa's objection.

"Do you have doubt in my judgment? Even you are Regular Division's commander doesn't mean that you have any power to judge my decision. If you want to do that, wait until you become at least Anbu commander and then I may reconsider. I may be easy on you but that doesn't mean that you have any privilege"

"Of course not, Raikage-sama. I didn't mean to offend you or your judgment but I'm also those brats commander that mean at least I could say something about this"

Raito just smiled (or sneered, you couldn't know that this man was smiled or sneered) and waved his hand in dismissal.

"Sorry to inform you this but you _don't _have any power in this. It's the thing that both the Genin Committee and I have been agreed upon already. You know that they can't do any higher missions if they couldn't complete this mission. Beside, it's just a bunch of bandits, no shinobi involvement here so I think that they're ready for this. You know that it better now than later, they're still young and can cope with this. Are you sure you don't want more tea?"

Hiroshi just sighed, it was the battle that he was destined to lose.

"I couldn't say anything in this, right? Not even a slightest of comment?"

"You're right you don't. Now, we already booked the ticket for you. You can ask any of my secretaries and they will bring it to you. Do you want me to send messengers to your team?"

"No, thank you. Raikage-sama. Better I inform them myself"

Hiroshi stood and bowed before he turned to leave Raito's office.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

So on the next day, 3 hours from their departure. They were on the southbound train crossing the Grand Canal, heading to the River country. The three genins' faces were glued to the windows, watching the magnificent view before them. Below, ships after ships sailed through the wide canal heading to many piers or departing for many ports around the world. With them are resources from their vast empire, mineral ores, crops, and natural resources, ready to feed the country's hungry industry. Depart with them was technology and industrial goods, the product of their predecessor, ready to bring back more wealth to the already prosperous country. The Canal Zone was the heart of the country that beat of commerce and industry.

Built in the period of the sorcerers, it was argued to be the last straw that broke the Onmyou Empire. Combining the harsh condition of the construction site and the amount of money that was poured into the project with the Lightning country's geography didn't help at all. The Lightning's geography was one of the reasons why they didn't get invaded by any shinobi during many wars. While the mountainous land didn't make invasion impossible, it promised high casualties and logistic nightmare. The same nightmare that the constructors must endured hundreds years ago. The canal was built so that the sorcerers can control the commerce of the healing world and with it, the access of the information of the ancient knowledge. But when it was finished, the canal had emptied the Empire's treasury, exhausted the noble class and sparked peasants to revolt against their weakening ruler.

Ironically, the same canal that was the reason for the collapse of the ancient empire was now the foundation of the power of its successor. The canal has granted the Lightning's control of the trade routes, the access to resources for their resources poor country and the economic dominance over the region. If the Hokage faces honored the Leaf's great leaders and showed the world of the village's greatness then the Canal must be the mirror that reflected the splendor that of their country and the monument that cried out for the glory that of their empire.

But nothing came without price. For many centuries, while many villages come and go and they must fought for their existence and power. The Lightning country and her shinobi village just stood by, seeing neither interest nor any benefit to join. Instead their time was devoted to strengthening their country, expanding their inherited empire and of course, trading with many villages as a neutral country. During the closing days of the Third Great Shinobi War, the Leaf and the Sand village has sealed an alliance with each other. It was very clever, the alliance will cut the other two great shinobi villages from each other if they tried to do the same thing but they forgot some factors, the factors that would make this alliance useless and prolonged the war. The Lighting country and her Grand Canal.

At the same time when the world saw a confused four ways war turned into a deadly two ways, the canal also saw men, materials and supplies flow from the Water and Earth country to each other through it's wide waterway. This has embittered the Leaf shinobi, who could do nothing but watched their victory snapped from their hands by the word called neutrality. And when the Kyuubi attacked the Leaf village and chaos reigned supreme over their chain of command, the shinobi that were on the Lightning-Fire border decided to end the war by themselves, by attacking the Canal Zone that was just across the border. Thus, the same canal that granted the Lightning its prosperity now brought the war to its host. With many catastrophic jutsus, the Leaf had destroyed the Lightning's fortifications before penetrated into the Canal Zone, severely damaged the canal before they were killed by the Cloud shinobis. They dragged the Lightning country into the war and unintentionally changed the balance of power of the continent and also the mindset of the Lightning people.

Watching below, our three genins couldn't recognize that this part of the canal had been severely damaged that it was unusable. They have seen the damaged canal in the book before, but after months of reconstruction and years of peace, they were no any slightest hint of the damages that once bring shame to their village.

"Are you three finish acting like schoolgirls on fieldtrip? If so, tell me so I can tell you about the mission"

Hiroshi words brought the three genins back to the real world. They turned to see their sensei narrowed his eyes as if he ashamed of their behavior. Tsubaki hung her head a bit before repositioned herself so she was sat more properly. Naruto and Katsuo soon followed her example.

"So, what's the deal this time, sesei? Escort some old bum or guarding some boring art shows?"

"Funny, Beachboy. Now, here're the files about this mission. The Shankaku region in the River country has recently suffered from a group of bandits. Your job here is to clear the region of this group. Easy, doesn't it"

"WAIT A MINUTE! Doesn't this kind of job belong to the River Country Peacekeeping Force?"

"Hmm. At least you know something useful than information about manga. Now, as all of you know. By the peace treaty, we have created the River country from the northern part of the Fire country to act as our buffer zone between us and them. Naturally, there are some ungrateful groups that still resist the process of peace and prosperity there. We have eliminated many groups but there are still some nuisance activities here and there but since this is during our last major campaign of reconstruction that country, the R.C.P.F aka our Expeditionary Force is now stretching thin. That's why they have requested for some help concerning that group. Any question?"

"So, this is counter-insurgency mission? Do you think we're ready for this?"

"Don't regard yourself so highly, mangahead. I won't call some bandits an insurgent group and I think it's you that asked for a more exciting mission for weeks"

"I know but…" But before Katsuo could ask more, Naruto interrupted him, rudely, if you asked Katsuo.

"Do you have more information? These files told us only about the region and the number of raids but I couldn't find any useful information about the group at all"

Naruto asked while flipping his file, not even looked up to see his sensei. Iesawa just smiled, not knowing that he should be proud or annoyed. Naruto was growing more and more like Raito everyday. (He decided that he should be annoyed when thinking of this)

"Don't worry _Naruto-kun_. The Shankaku regional captain will inform us for the rest. We have a few hours before we'll arrive at Shankaku station so I want you all to prepare yourself as much as you can. Act like a shinobi and stop complaining!"

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"What do you want to know? They are there, on that mountain. How much information do you want to know in order to eliminate some bandits? Really, I asked them for reinforcements and the higher-ups send me a genin team? I trust your skill, Iesawa-san but not your students"

Katsuo was about to retort when Tsubaki's shoe on his foot silenced him. So, it was Naruto that have to ask.

"Don't worry, captain. We're capable to do this job. All we want to know is how many of them"

Edara Satoshi, captain of Shankaku regional force, looked at four peoples in front of him suspiciously. They are talking at the construction site kilometers from the growing Shinkumamo city. Edara was an anbu and he was a very good one. It was his nature to make sure that his mission must be completed. He couldn't accept failure and he feared that this bunch of kids will make his mission failed because of their incompetence to make sure that those bandits will leave the construction site and the city alone. Like he could read Edara's mind, Iesawa was immediately interrupted the conversation.

"Don't worry, Edara-san. I'm still here and this is not a normal genin team, this is the village's no.1 genin team of this year"

"I know that. I have heard about… what they called your team? Yes, Slave-squad but still…a genin team"

Edara just sighed and shook his head.

"Well, shinobi must adapt no matter what the circumstances is. If the village thought that you four are capable to do this job then I'm in no position to protest their judgment. After all, a group of 50 bandits shouldn't be that hard work for you"

"If you think we couldn't take on some bandits then why didn't you do it yourself, remember, it was you that asked for help!"

Katsuo has managed to retort before Tsubaki's elbow on his rips silenced him again.

"Nice question. Do you see the construction site?" Edara pointed back at the construction site behind him. "This railway bridge will connect this part of the country with the other part. This is our priority and since we are stretching thin, we couldn't even send any force to protect anymore towns beside this site and Shinkumamo, let alone deal with those bandits. Anymore questions?"

"No thank you, captain Edara. We have dragged you from your job long enough now. My team and I are very grateful for your sacrifice"

Naruto thanked and bowed before he led his teammates back to the city.

"Damn it! Katsuo! You've done a great job angered the captain. Anbu Captain for Kami's sake! Now he won't help us anymore. Great job!"

"Hey! Don't you listen to what that arrogant bastard said? Genin this, genin that. GOD! How much I want to kill that bastard!"

"We are genin! Not chunin, not captain, not commander but genin! What were you thinking! Now wait until he got promoted to a higher position and send us to a permanent desk job!"

"He can't do that" Katsuo said but his voice was a bit shaking. He looked at Naruto then at Tsubaki. "Can he?"

Naruto just shook his head. Katsuo was a good shinobi with high potential but the only good thing that his mouth could do to him was to get food into his stomach. Tsubaki just didn't pay any attention to her teammates. She looked back at her sensei that still talking with Edara.

'_What do they mean that mission?'_

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The sky this night was very clear. Stars were shining in the dark velvet sky like a million pieces of jewels on the Chinese black silk. It was a very peaceful sight, contrary to what happening under it in Shankaku's mountain.

In the small clearing with many huts, people were running everywhere, trying to protect their homes from intruders. The three genins were hiding in the shadow behind one of the hut, waiting for their opportunity.

"Damn! And that bastard told us there were 50 of them. Look at these huts, there could be hundreds of them"

"Quiet! Katsuo. Iesawa-sensei has managed to confuse them that we are outside their village so we could capture them easier. Don't ruin our plan"

"I know, sorry."

Naruto turned to Tsubaki.

"How many of them there?"

"Three in front of that hut. Four running to that hut and three..wait! One of them bring one woman to that hut!"

"Hostage?"

"I think so. She's screaming for help"

"Then what are we waiting for? Hold on ladies! I'm here for you now!"

"Quiet!" The two genins silently shouted at their teammate.

"Sorry"

"All right, we'll attack bandits that guarding that hut. Most of them are running to sensei's position now so it should be safe enough for hostages to escape. Once we're done, Tsubaki, you'll lead them to safe place and Katsuo and I will chase the bandits and entrap them according to plan. Any question?"

The two shook their heads. Naruto nodded at this.

"Ok. Attack when I'm count to three. One. Two. THREE!"

The three of them jumped from their hiding, while performing the handseal.

"RAITON! Electric shock!"

Suddenly, there are bolts of lightning shot from their hands toward the bandits that tried to attacked them, instantly knock them out.

"WOW! That's pretty easy!"

Katsuo said while opening the hut's door. Inside, they found about 20 women hugging each other. Their bodies shook by fear.

"Please, help us! We want to go home!" one of them pleaded.

Katsuo just smiled. "Don't worry ladies! We're here for help you from these wild creatures!"

Naruto just shook his head. Why Katsuo just couldn't shut his mouth for good?. He indicated Tsubaki to check the surrounding and when she told him that all the bandits has leaved the village, he turned to the women.

"All right, you all follow Tsubaki here. She will take you to safe place. Katsuo, follow me!"

With that the three of them turned to leave the hut.

**BANG!**

All of them stopped dead in their track at the doorframe. They were stopped by that loud, too familiar sound that seemed to shock all of them like a sound of thunder that roared the sky of the storm season. Naruto looked at the doorframe at his right. There's a hole at the same level of his head with smoke slowly rising from that hold. He and his teammates slowly turned their heads back at the group. They saw the woman that just pleaded for help holding a gun that pointed at Naruto's head.All of themwere shocked at this. The three genins were shocked at what just has happened and the women, too, were shocked, though not for the same reason. Those women were shocked that they're failed but what shocked them more were the eyes of those kids. Gone were the eyes of amateur, filled with mercy and excitement and replaced it were eyes of veterans, filled with realization. The realization of the battlefield, kill or get killed! They knew what will happen to them if they don't kill these kids first. All of them picked up their guns, ready to shoot at the three shinobis in front of them. Pity though, it was the same time that those shinobis finished their handseals.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"AGHHH"

The sound of screaming filled the room in the Raikage's Office. Naruto woke up again for a second time this night. He dreamed of them again. Blood was everywhere, their bodies were thorn apart into pieces. One of the women, what's left of her, pleaded him to stop but when he stopped they're suddenly shot at him and all of the event would repeat again and again. It was 4 days after that event, his first kill. Naruto shuddered at that thought. He should feel guilty killing those women but he didn't. He was trained and studied since being a mere child how to kill other human beings. It was what they're live for. It was the part of being a shinobi. But knowing it didn't make it easier at all.

How many times those images flashed through his head? 40? 50? After he killed those women he just felt tired, both physically and mentally. Iesawa-san seemed understand though. He didn't asked them why they didn't help him trapped those bandits or why they have blood plastered on their cloths. He let them sat silently through their journey back. Well, at least he got a lot of time to rest. Their sensei told them after they came back that their team will be out of duty until further notice and all of them will have an appointment with psychiatrist everyday. At least he could let it off his head when he was there.

Naruto tried to sleep. He knew he would dream of them again but he also knew that it would fade away. Soon, he would just forget it. He would remember it just as the day that he killed someone for a first time. He would forget what their faces look like, just women that left him no choices but to kill them all. For now, he would just thought of Raito's words when he taught him when he first learned how to kill like it was a lullaby.

"_Remember this, Naruto. We are shinobi, killing is a part of us. In the future you will kill many peoples. There're many reasons why you'll kill them. Be it to protect the peoples you love, protect your village, or just because it was a mission. You must kill them without any hesitation. But remember this. Of all the reasons, there is one reason that you must not kill for and we're condemn who kill for it. We don't kill just for fun" _

End chapter 4

Author's note: So what do you think? REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!

Personally, I think that this part is very important. I just wonder how Naruto's first kill is gonna be like. It will make later chapters more realistic why Naruto could kill easily. I just don't like it when Naruto just pop out of nowhere and kill someone like it was just a routine job. I think it need some background so here we are. I tried to put more action in this chapter but failed miserably so I must delete it. I hope that next chapter will have more actions than this. I tried to make my OCs more realistic so this chapter was like an introdruction to the three genins and their sensei (plus Raito and the Lightning country). I have a plot until the end of the chunin exam so wait for it. After the exam things may starts to divert from the cannon(?) so let see that if I could carry the story to that point.

IMPORTANT! I'm thinking of raise the rate of this fic to M considered what'll happen in next chapter so maybe I will raise it but let's see until I finish chapter 5 before I'll do anything.

**HolyKnight5** : Well sorry for the reallll late update but there're final exam and later report exams so I couldn't find any time to write. But it's all over now so maybe I can update more frequently.

**joecool4 **: Let's see. I'm now thinking of something that's familiar to it but YES! Naruto will learn Kagebushin, though the way he learn it may not please many of you.

**KurmusonShinigami **:You can see it in next chapter.

**Arsenel, Firehedgehog, Edengrave, madnarutofan, Mingshun, shina-lim, Samurai Demon-God Sekikage and many others** : THANK YOU THANK YOU!

So, until next chapter. BYE!


	5. Chapter 5: Waves, wavering waves

**THUNDER FOX**

**By Deputy of Kage**

Disclaimer: I don't own NARUTO. I will borrow some Idea from other things but I don't own that – except things that I create myself.

Note: Please bear with my grammar and English - it's just not my thing. I _do_ have a beta-reader though and English is _his _thing so all complaints about grammar should be sent to him – I so love having a scapegoat!

"A": normal speech

'_A_': character thoughts

**A**: indicates demonic influence

CHAPTER 5: WAVES, WAVERING WAVES

Naruto walked out from his home into his neighborhood. The Yolk was the nickname that everyone in Lightning country referred to the administrative section of the village. It was a group of building complexes that formed the nucleus of the country's military and in the middle of it was his home – The Office of the Raikage – surrounded by many military buildings and most of the Daimyo's civilian governmental regional offices.

Unlike other shinobi, who sometimes found themselves confused by the area's complicated network, he knew the surroundings like the back of his hand - after all, this _was_ his neighborhood.

While other children ran around their backyards, peaked in the kitchens for snacks, or built sandcastles in the playgrounds. The Samurai's main dojo was his secret fort for playing 'hide and seek' (the ninja's version of it), he chatted with many peoples in the ANBU Corp Complex, waited for his lunch in the Central Interrogation Unit Headquarters' cafeteria and had afternoon tea with the librarians in the Data Library.

No one knew the Yolk better than he did. He knew exactly where everything was and who was who in the village. He walked comfortably to his destination, only stopping here and there to greet the people he knew. He knew that most of those that he met feared him for what was inside of him as Raito and those in the higher echelons never lied about who he was or what he was. He expected these people to fear him too, like in his former village, but fortunately for him, they didn't act upon any fears they had. There never were any reasons for them, as he was just a child who was a vessel and that was it, period. They would never do the nasty things the leaf villagers did when they thought that the Sandaime wouldn't know about it. Thinking about it again, he wondered what his life would be if he had never been abducted by this village. He might have been dead right now or become some pathetic, low-life ninja that would have still lived in self-deception, unaware of the futility of proclaiming his dreams for the title of Hokage.

_'Hokage'_

Naruto thought about that word bitterly. A word that was once his dream was now only a fragile shadow of what it once held. It had become a title only signifying a man that had turned his life into a living hell of loneliness. It, and Konoha, had become synonyms with every word he hated: narrow-mindedness, bigoted, cowed, arrogant, ignorant, deceptive, and misleading.

_'How stupid I was. Thinking that those people would have let me become their leader – let alone care for me'_

Naruto stopped walking and closed his eyes, trying to calm down. He couldn't let his hatred grow too much or the demon inside of him would drain power from his emotions. Although pulling out its power at will was addictive and mesmerizing, he had been constantly drilled by the Raikage on the dangers of continued use. He opened his eyes and found out that he had unconsciously walked himself to his destination, the Mission Distribution Centre –the place where missions from all of the Hidden Cloud's agencies were gathered and then distributed to any shinobi the M.D.C. found fit to employ.

He entered the dull, unfriendly looking building. Even though this wasn't the first time he received a mission, he still felt nervous. _Something_ always happened when he _had _to be briefed instead of having just the information sent to his commander. When Raito-san informed his sensei about his mission in the River country 2 years ago, it turned out that it was the '_standard_-option-to-strengthen-genin's-experience' mission. When he first entered this building for a mission briefing, he was sent to a frontline in a brief colonial war a continent away. Then it was his first assassination mission, then a kidnapping and teaching a lesson to an independent leaning politician in the colony, and then a two month long espionage mission - the list went on and on. God how he hated this place!

Naruto walked to the PR desk right inside of the building's door. The same old hag still sat there, reading her magazine and fattening her already larger than life body, not caring for any shinobi that may happen to forget where his or her briefing room was.

"Err. Hello?"

The lady's eyes moved up a bit, the only sign that she heard him.

"Yes?" She said in a voice that clearly told him she didn't pleased that he interrupted her job.

"Do you happen to know where my briefing room is?"

"Your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto. Iesawa's team"

"Father, Mother or son?"

"Father, Genin team" She tapped the keyboard a bit before the computer in front of her whilst telling her what she wanted.

"Briefing room 217. Use the right wing stair. You got 5 minutes left." She told him before resuming her duty.

Naruto thanked her, though he doubted she would care. He went up the stairs, walked through the wide corridors, bowed to the superiors, greeted by the youngsters and exchanged a few words with his comrades along the way. He stood before his briefing room, adjusted his uniform and took a deep breath before he entered. Inside the room were just a desk, a few chairs and a monitor screen on the wall. Nothing that did not involve the briefing process could be found anywhere in the room, which wasn't surprising as the village obsessed over efficiency. He found that his sensei and teammates were already there, sitting silently, waiting for his and the agent's arrival.

"Ah, His Excellency has finally arrived. Exactly on time, if I might add" Iesawa turned his head around and greeted his subordinated.

"I had things to do. Although I came here before the agent, if I might add" Naruto answered and sat on the only available chair, saying hello to his team. Iesawa dropped his question, acknowledging his signal of frustration.

"What things exactly?" Katsuo eagerly asked. Thank the Kami! At last someone sane arrived. Sitting alone with his sensei and teammate was a nightmare.

"Things" Naruto dully answered, not caring for the frown on Katsuo's face.

"Andddddd?" Katsuo didn't give up.

"Paperwork. Confidential. Can't answer. Write a memo to Raikage-sama if you want to know that much." Resulting in Katsuo banging his head on the table. It seemed that Naruto wasn't in a mood to talk. Sitting alone with these two and a Naruto on his bad day was a worst case scenario came true. The sound of Tsubaki's giggle, the sound of Iesawa sharpening his kunai (and eyeing him like he was a practice target) and now the sound of Naruto tapping his finger on the table was just too much. And, like it wasn't enough, he almost fell to the floor when the M.D.C agent _skipped_ into the room.

"Uncle! What are you doing here?"

Katsuo's yelling caught attention of everyone in the room and Kawada Keichi became the centre of attention and he didn't like it.

"What do you think – playing football?"

"Kawada-san? I thought you were out of active duty. You know, for your injury." Iesawa asked his fellow ANBU.

"Yeah! The ANBU medic-nin relieved me from active duty for two weeks and guess what - it seemed that the village thought that I'm not too old or too ill to work, and guess what? They reschedule my schedule, MY-OWN-SCHEDULE! Then they advanced my desk job rotation1 shift so I could do my desk job to fill the position for an old lady that just died and you know what they said? 'You don't want us to waste a resource, do you?' Don't waste a resource my ass!"

"Wow! Like uncle like nephew. You've heard one Kawada, you've heard them all." Naruto whispered to Tsubaki who tried to hide her giggle. "I think the only reason they haven't talked each other to death is because Katsuo wants to get laid. I mean, why else would he ogle every female thing in sight – and I mean _everything_!"

"Uncle, why didn't you tell me?"

"So what, you'd go and beg the M.D.C.? Can't we just do our job and be done with it? I have another 3 teams waiting for more briefings this morning."

"Sorry then."

"Humph, forget that. Mou, if you're really sorry give me your share of this mission's pay because you just hit a jackpot."

"A jackpot?" All three genin said in unison.

Keichi just smiled and tossed the mission files to the people in front of him.

"Do you know this man?" He said and pushed the button on the remote in his hand. The monitor reviewed the picture of a middle-aged man in black business suit walking on the street and surrounded by bodyguards.

"Gatou Masayoshi. He's a Water citizen who made it big in the business world and became president of Gatou Shipping Corporation. He's also one of the richest men in the continent and one of the more corrupt." Naruto muttered and all eyes in the room stared at him.

"What? Since when were reading business papers a crime?"

"Very good, Naruto, bravo… now, is there anything else?"

"Well, it was rumored that he was involved in some illegal activity. You know: smuggling, drug-trafficking, slave-trafficking and things like that. Is that involved our mission? He set up a mafia gang in our country?"

Keichi smiled. This kid was good, _if_ you ignored his annoying behavior.

"Yes and no. Yes, it involves your mission and no, he's not set up a gang in our country. To put it simply, he's just taken over that little, faraway country called Wave and we have to kill him for that."

"What is this? Fighting a criminal lord for the peace of the world? Since when were other nations' well being our concern?" Iesawa asked.

"Not then, not now and not ever. But you see. The Mist and Water governments have requested our help for Gatou's head and their….way of payment is very well, rewardingly interesting"

"Your jackpot, might I ask?" Tsubaki asked. Now _this _got her attention.

"You're right, you lucky sons of a gun." Tsubaki's glare would have him six feet under were it possible looks could kill. "Oops. Sorry. Now, like I told you. The Mist and Water governments have requested our shinobi for this mission and in return they will give us 25 of Gatou's properties – once all of them have been expropriated and auctioned of course. Even after it's divided between you four, the agent fee for this village paid, including income tax deduction for the government, there's still a big amount of money! A jackpot you could say!"

Iesawa shrugged and smiled. "Well, then we don't have any problem. Since we have a cooperation agreement with Water, shouldn't we help our allies when they are in times of need? Not to mention having to liberate the wave citizens?"

"Ano... Can I ask some question? This doesn't seem right. Why would the Water have to hire and pay us when they can send the Mist shinobi to do the job and pay them even less than they have to pay us?"

His uncle shook his head.

"I told you that history was as important as training. Read your history books - they can't do that. Since the end of the Great War, the Water country has fallen into anarchy and fragmentation as well as the Mist village. They even had to request our troops to help with the rehabilitation of their village and nation! Now, Gatou is a really, really powerful man and has much influence. He's a bad man yes, but also one with a _hell_ of a lot of connections. The Water and Mist governments now need any support they can get and I don't think that killing a rich and powerful citizen will gain them any support they need. Even though said man in question is now challenging his own governments' authority by taking over a country. Any more asinine questions from you squirts?"

"Yes, I have one" Naruto said when he finished flipping the files. "I don't think that you completely told us about our mission and I don't think that the village will let us go with this amount of money without doing more…tasks. Am I right Kawada-san?"

Now Keichi fell silent. His face was exactly like his nephew did when he got hit at his strategic organ during last mission. He adjusted his shirt's collar a bit. Then he answered the question, though he talked like he had just been trapped. Now this alerted Naruto – something always happen with a 'too good to be true' mission.

"Well…You see. There are some complications…"

And he thought that this could be just another simple assassination mission.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Sasuke-kun! Do you want some more tea?" Sakura asked her crush while Inner Sakura yelled and threw a fist in the air.

'Yes! This was almost like our honeymoon! OH SASUKE-KUN! Watch this Ino-pig!' 

"…." was the only answer the Uchiha survivor gave his teammate. Sakura ignored this and poured him more tea anyway while snuggling closer to him.

'_OH KAMI! His skin is so soft, so... so... Sasuke-kun!'_ Inner Sakura yelled while rolling around on her mind's floor, her nose bleeding.

Her team was now sitting in a restaurant in the Fire's harbor town that was nearest to the Wave country, waiting for Tazuna's friend to pick them up.

"Maaa... Tazuna-san, how long until your friend is coming? We shouldn't stay here for too long just in case we meet up with more shinobi. There're still some boats that can carry us to your country, right?"

"What? Do you think we may be attacked again?" The bridge builder shakily asked. The memory of the attack by the so-called 'Demon Brothers' still clung to his mind so Kakashi just waved his hand, still reading his orange little book.

"To tell you the truth, Gatou will attack you again, that's for sure. It's just a matter of time. But don't worry; you saw that my students could handle them, right?"

'Yes! Sasuke is the greatest shinobi alive! Even better than you, you pervert!' 

Inner Sakura yelled whilst Sakura assured and relieved their client. "Don't worry, Tazuna-san. Even if we can't deal with them, Kakashi sensei is still here and he's one of our greatest shinobi, right Sasuke-kun?"

No answer.

The table was silent for a while before Sakura start talking again.

"Sasuke-kun, I want to go to a bathroom. Can you go with me and wait for me?"

'_And then maybe we can runaway together, find some hut and….and…..start a family!'_ Inner Sakura was rolling around and her nose was bleeding even more. _'God! God! Sasuke-kun!'_

Why don't you go your self?" Sasuke answered. He was getting annoyed more and more.

'He's talking to me!' 

"But…Sasuke-kun. There're so many people here, even sailors! I'm just a cute little girl – who knows what would happen if I went alone?"

"You are a kunoichi so please act like one! Besides, who would want anything to do with a flat-chested, big fatheaded girl like you?" Their third teammate, Shigeru, objected. He, too, was getting more and more annoyed.

"Shut up Shigeru!2 I'm talking to Sasuke not you!" Then she dragged her crush along with her.

'Now where's bathroom?' 

But before she could ask anyone something interrupted her. That something was a girl her aged being pushed down to Sakura's feet. She looked up and saw two big men coming her way, yelling.

"Bitch, look what you did to my shirt! Do you know how much it costs?"

"Please! I'm so sorry." The girl pleaded to her attacker and then looked up to see Sakura. "Please help me!"

Before Sakura could scream for help, Sasuke let her hand go and dashed toward the two men. He jumped in the air and kicked one man to the wall.

"You damn brat! You'll pay!" The other man yelled once he saw that his friend was knocked out and jumped toward Sasuke, his fist aiming to the boy's face. But before the man fist and Sasuke face could connect, Sasuke twirled and sent an uppercut to the man's chin resulting in the brute falling to the floor, unconscious.

"Next time, find an opponent your size."

He walked to the girl that was still at Sakura's feet and offered her his hand.

"Thank you! OH! I don't know how much I can pay you back for this!" The girl blushed furiously, before he turned his attention to his teammate.

"You're alright?"

"Yeah…yeah. I'm…alright" Sakura answered like she was in a daze, her face was red like a tomato. By now people had started to gather around them, wanting to know what had happened.

"YO! Sasuke, what happened here?"

Kakashi asked, beside him were Tazuna and Shigeru. The girl turned around and then her eyes went big.

"Tazuna-san? You're Tazuna right?"

"How do you know me?" Tazuna asked.

"Of course I know you! Everyone in the Wave know the great bridge builder Tazuna!"

"You're from Wave girl?" Tazuna asked, his chest swelled with pride.

"Yes! My family fled from the Wave before Gatou took control. You running too?"

"No, I'm going back."

"Really? Can I come with you? My family's dead and I have to go back to live with my aunt. She's the only relative I have left." The girl pleaded the bridge builder.

"Of course, you can!"

"Wait! Tazuna-san!" Kakashi interrupted their conversation.

"What is it sensei?" Shigeru asked.

"We don't know who she is. She may be an enemy for sakes and purposes." With that Tazuna's and Team 7's eyes turned to the girl and she started to shiver and cry.

"I'm…I'm not your enemy. How could I be…?" She started to sob.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei, how could she be an enemy? She's just my age and if she really were an enemy she wouldn't have had any trouble with those men!" Sakura tried to talk with her sensei.

"Sakura, I know shinobi that…" But before he could finish, the girl fell to the floor and started crying.

"No…No! I'm not your enemy. How could you say that! Gatou killed my uncle and you say I'm on his side!"

"Tazuna-san. It maybe hard but for your safety we must…"

"I know this girl!" A voice interrupted him. He turned and saw a waitress kneed to the girl and tried to comfort her.

"I saw her wandering around here for days asking for a boat to the Wave. She's not on Gatou's side, I'm sure of that."

"See Kakashi-sensei? She's not our enemy so let her go with us, please?" Sakura pleaded.

"No! We can't be sure about anything. I already made my decision." Kakashi started to leave the restaurant before he turned and caught a bottle that was thrown at him.

"You Leaf Bastards! Don't you have any heart? Isn't it enough that you bring us a catastrophe from the Cloud and now you act like a smart-aleck, a know-it-all? I saw her begging for food and shelter and now you just leave her to her death! A typical Leaf shinobi I say." The man yelled at the Leaf shinobi group. By now the people started to surround them, yelling at them.

"You heartless shinobi, how could you?"

"What do you know about us? You just live in your untouched village while we have to rebuild everything!"

"Look at him! Doesn't he look evil?"

"Yeah! You're bad luck to us: you bring us war!"

"You murderer!"

"WARMONGER!"

Before everything got out of control, Kakashi yelled. "ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT! I believe you! She can go with us!" When he finished, the crowd cheered and pattered the girl back.

'_Damn! It's happened a second time this day!' _He thought and looked at the girl intensely before concluded that she was not an enemy since so many people had given their word for her. Besides he couldn't detect any chakra from her. He apologized to her and the crowd started to leave. Turning wearily towards Sakura he told her to help the girl stand up.

'_Wow! She has black hair and green eyes – like me and Sasuke-kun!' _Sakura thought while her inner self giggled uncontrollably.

"Oh! I almost forget to ask you for your name! I'm Sakura, Haruno Sakura"

The girl smiled before answered.

"I'm Masashi, Masashi Tsubaki"

END CHAPTER 5

NOTE

(1) Excerpted from 'The Cloud Village, A Hand Book' - The Cloud PR Centre.

**Desk Job Rotation**

"….A system of rotating every shinobi available in the village to do a desk job. Since civilians were forbidden from entering certain areas of the village or gaining access to most information, the second Raikage set up a system that…."

(2) Excerpted from Author's notebook.

**Tsukomi Shigeru **

Unimportant OC who was only created to fill Naruto's place in Team 7 and will get killed soon – aren't I evil?

**Credit**: Thank you and applause for Wizard Surreal for beta-ing this story and making it more fun and readable!

Though my mistakes in the process of adjusting later might make this story return to its miserable state once again, I'll see if I can get Wizard to fix up the previous chapters as well.

Author's Note

Yeah! Finally finished chapter 5. What do you think? I have finished about 50-60 of chapter 6 so wait for it! For OC that replace Naruto, don't worry, as I said. He will get killed soon. I just don't want to change much concerning Leaf team. At first, I want to use somebody like Ino or Shino or Kiba to fill team 7 but who will I fill the hole in their team? Also, concerning the Lightning and Cloud: why did I make them so different from any other villages? It's because they're (as I wrote in chapter 3) the oldest village and country in the Shinobi continent plus they inherited much 'old' knowledge from their predecessor. Why the Leafs are hell-bent on protecting their village? It's because the village is their country! In the Manga, Kakashi said that the hidden villages were not under the country they're fight for but are equal so I envision that they are the separate political entity from the country, like a city-state that is in the bigger state or some sort. If their village were to be destroyed, then they would cease to exist as well as the country that depended on them. For the Cloud and Lightning though, since they have inherited the Onmyou's military force, the Raikage wasn't in control of just shinobi anymore. Like I mentioned in chapter 3, Raito is not just the leader of Hidden Cloud but is the Supreme Commander of Lightning's military force! So, the Cloud village has already worn out from the idea of them being a separate political entity from the Lightning country, rather, they view themselves as a separate function between Military and Civilian in the one, single, indivisible Lightning country! This will affect the way of thinking between the Hidden Cloud and the other hidden village. That's why in chapter 1 Raito thought that the Leaf fell for the obvious trap. Cloud shinobi just don't have power concerning foreign affair, the Daimyo's government has. (At least as far as military was not in concern) That's why Oro directly attack the Leaf. If the Leaf was gone, the Fire country will be completely vulnerable.While the Cloud just pushing further and further, destroying everything in their path because for them, if the Fire were gone, the Leaf would be gone as well. If the same thing happened to the Cloud, it won't affect much. The Lightning still have many troops (Onmyou, Samurai and Armed Force) and the Cloud is now just a centre of command (think of them as a city-sized military base) and if they were to be threatened, they would just evacuate the village and shift the command further inland.

Well, finish the ranting about the Cloud. I just got carried away, sorry. But this is important. Like in chapter 1, the Cloud has used this difference to their full advantage. And also, the Lightning's main exports were technology products like computers, electronic goods, steel, or technological know-how like how to maintain that products. Where do you think those tech stuffs came from? Now let answer some question.

**aznpuffyhair**Hey! Interesting idea! Though at first I didn't plan to put ant romance in it but your idea seem very interesting!

**madnarutofan**Well, Raito didn't make those women to try to kill Naruto's team. They're act on their own. But Raito did send Naruto to kill someone! It's a mission to allow the genin to have killing experience. The Cloud send their genin on a mission that has a veryhigh chance that they will kill someone. And if they didn't? They will send the team more and more on the same type of mission until the genin will eventually kill someone. Spoil! I plan to make the Lightning and the Cloud somewhat an evil empire.

**Cyberwolf**In this fic Naruto is the normal kid (as far as a shinobi can be normal.) He could be happy and joking around with his friends but he's not that loudmouth, hyper kid. He just knows WHEN TO SHUT HIS MOUTH AND GET SERIOUS. He also thinks before he acts or talks which is a huge different from canon. On the Mission, just one advice, you DON'T want to be his enemy because this Naruto won't be hesitate to kill (and sometimes very slowly and painfully) YEP! Naruto will grow up like Raito. For your last question, wait and see.

**Arsenel: **Ummm. Naruto wasn't going to be mad or lose his mind (**"Pity."** Author glares at Wizard Surreal. "You're my beta, not my muse so get the hell out of here!"… "**Awwwwww."**) The nightmare was only the side effect but this Naruto isn't that stable. In this period he's like a time bomb that's waiting to explode on the Leaf but not in that violent a way though. The deep hatred that the Cloud had fed him has taken root and is too deep for him to just go and kill some random Leaf people outright. I think that I was long on the Canal stuff because it was the reason that the Lightning has been drag into war. Oh! And the Canal belong to the Lightning not the River. The River was a puppet country that the Lightning carved up from Fire territory to act as a buffer zone between the Fire and the Canal Zone. They have troop garrisoned there and enthrone the Lightning Daimyo's youngest brother to be that said country Daimyo. So, the River country will be a sour point in the Cloud-Leaf relation.

**RaitenKitsune****Onikami-no-Shinobi****anti-thule****RockBane****Tokyo no Ecchi****Nasuren****Firehedgehog**

Thank you all for reading my fic! THANKS A LOT. Hope you enjoy this chapter too. Oh, and a big applause again to Wizard Surreal. Go read his story "Nightfall" – it's pretty interesting – and if you're feeling particularly daring then go to his homepage and read "A New Beginning." One thing though, just bear with him for the first few paragraphs.

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	6. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

**IF you care to read, pleas read if you want.**

OK. First of all, for all of you that read Thunder Fox, I'm really sorry for this long delay. Many factors have a play in why it was this slow and long for an update. First, I'm a lazy bum, yes, I am. No excuse for that. I'm worse that Shikamaru. Second, I've lost so much interest in Naruto since this current arc had started. It was so…… I can't describe how I feel now about my former most favorite manga. Simply, it was deteriorate to a degree that I have totally lost interest in it for a long time. So, what did I do? Like I said before, I'm not the one to let my work unfinished. So, in the spirit of one of my most favorite writer, krakensghost, I will ignore that this arc exist.

NOTE. FOR ME, THIS ARC IS NOT EXIST! THE CURRENT TIME IN THE NARUTO IS AFTER THE SASUKE(YOU $#) ARC AND KISHI HAS PUT A HIATUS THERE.

I will, and I promise, that Thunder Fox will be completed. I DON'T CARE HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE! But please understand that I have life and now I have started writing my original work for a while now. BUT IT WILL BE COMPLETED!

So, the other thing that I want to tell you, my dearest readers, is that. I will write the new version of Thunder Fox (I may even change it's name but that still an open option) The current version, in my opinion, has turned away from my original thinking of this story, so, I will rewrite and re-plot it.

So, what can you expect in this new version? Naruto will still kickass! Of course! That's why I'm writing Naruto fanfic. But do not expect the Cloud village to be a good village. Simply put, the madmen with power. OCs, hmmm, I will try to give them a more personality and characterization so that they won't be so flat. Naruto's teammates? Forget about friend and comrade concept of Konoha, it simply didn't exist in the Cloud village.

Beta! How can I forget this! I know that grammar is not my strong point so if anyone want to help I will appreciate that very much. You can email me or told me in your review. (that if anyone still got interest in my fanfic) I will send the whole fic to you once it all done. I know you all hate the long update so I will finish the fic first before I will post it.

Ok, that's it. I hope I can finished it soon so you all can read and enjoy it. That's what I hope.

Now, the teaser of the new fic. The unfinished chapter1 (I have finished chapter 3-6 but chapter1 is still unfinished and un-edited, yeah I'm a bit unorganized)


	7. Teaser

TEASER OF VERSION 2

Discliamer: Naruto is not mine.

Chapter1 A Tale of Two Cities

Sarutobi, The third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, looked at the scene before him and felt his heart numbed. The little form that was being under the protection of the blanket was asleep, only the head of the form was visible for all to see. It was small, the head, very small with just a stack of blond hair on it, blond hair that was just being washed from blood. He sighed and felt regret being dumped on his already guilt filled heart.

Just why the villagers won't leave the kid alone, he thought and sighed again. He'd failed the kid, he'd failed his successor, he couldn't made sure that the boy will be safe and now he felt that he'd failed them all.

He looked at the blonde hair of the kid and saw what remain of the section of the hair that had been burnt.

They'd tried to burn him alive, he spat and felt something inside him died. Never in his life had he ever doubted in his village. He'd always feel proud in his village, in it's people and it's values. Never the Leaf peoples had done anything like this, trying to kill a three years old boy for something he'd never commit or something he couldn't control. He had personally ordered them to be executed. His shinobis seemed strangely reluctance at first, but nonetheless they'd complied. Law was still law, and no Konoha citizen had any right to kill another citizen.

He once had considered sending him to other places, far from here, far from this people but how could he make sure that the boy will be safe? How could he make sure that some shinobi just won't go after the kid and killed him for revenge? No, Naruto would be safer, even how many times it looked like the opposite way, in this village and under his eyes. Of course, otherwise if he could find someone he could trust, but lately, he'd felt like he could trust no one over this issue. He'd just stripped that wretched Anbu, his Anbu, his choice, from all ranks and happily send him back to Genin rank after he'd failed this particular protection mission. The near manpower shortage was the only thing that prevented him from joining the same fate as those villagers.

His former students came to his thought but he'd quickly put it aside. Jiraiya was busy now, trying to hold the enemy's advance and stay alive. Tsunade was out of the question. He'd lost contact with her since she'd leaved, no, fled the village after the Kyuubi had been sealed inside this boy. Guilt and regret had pushed her away, too much memories for her, and then Orochimaru…

"Hokage-sama" A grimly low voice behind him suddenly brought him from his inner thought. He turned and saw an Anbu standing at the doorframe, shifting instantly, as if standing there was unbearable.

"Hokage-sama? The council is ready and waiting for you" The same Anbu said when he saw that Sarutobi still sitting there, beside the…thing.

Sarutobi saw the tone in that Anbu's eyes and felt like he want to kill someone but instead, he stood up and walked to the door.

"Watch the boy. If anything happen to him, you'll be the one that must responsible for it" He said while he was walking past the said Anbu. He saw the Anbu flinched and snickered, sympathy was not in his mood right now. A small victory for him, small, but nonetheless victory.

With that thought, a smile appeared on his face, a very small smile that kept only to Sandaime himself. He thought how long that he hadn't smile or there'd been any reasons to, even though that he knew that the smile won't last long. Indeed, when he greeted the guards that began to open the door of the conference room for him, his smile won't last long.

"What did you just say?" Sarutobi spoke, couldn't clearly comprehended what he'd just heard. He looked around the room, two of his former teammates- now his advisors-sat beside him, all the clan's head, all the Jounins who hadn't been sent to the war zone, yet, and the people who's who in the village and the Fire country sat before him. All of them looked…tense, as well as the atmosphere of the room. The war, indeed, was taking its toll on everyone, Sarutobi thought.

"I said.." The fat man in front of him spoke. Sarutobi remembered him, Fire country's Daimyo's representative "that we should end the war against the Cloud. This war was ridiculously started by an accident and it'd made us fighting an elusive foe, a foe we never want to fight against, while we're already at war with the Mist and the Stone. We should offer them a peace agreement, so we can end this war and concentrate on our real enemy"

Sarutobi waited for a reaction from the room. Something like this was unheard of in the Leaf and the Fire country. They'd never lose any wars before and an offer like this was a show of weakness and couldn't be allowed to stand. When nothing happened, suspicion rose inside his brain. The room was too quiet for a proposal like this. Hoping to deter such a ridiculous scheme, he started to argue.

"You must understand that this is a big move, even the Cloud only declared war against us but not against our allies, there is no guarantee that they will accept our offer and of course you must remember what the Cloud has done to us. The carnages that…"

The fat man, realized the opening, seized the opportunity and cut Sarutobi off.

"Of course how could we forget what they have done to us?" He spoke and looked around the room, particularly at the shinobis.

"The occupation of the North Plain, the destruction of our coastline and not to mention the Massacre of Zoryu, Chitara and Mukden. Hardly to forget isn't it? And to think that all of this was started by your rouge shinobis, who you failed to keep them in line and now we've to suffer from it" The man stopped at Sarutobi, as if dared him to say something against it. For some reason, Sarutobi didn't.

The fat man spoke on, his voice ranging in the room and Sarutobi was suspicious when no shinobi had spoke to defend the Leaf.

"I say we've suffered long enough. It's now time to end this ridiculous fight. This war was started by an accident and…" He looked at Sarutobi "the incompetence to handle such an accident. The Cloud never wants to be our enemy. Why do we keep fighting them when it is clear who's our real enemy? Hokage-sama, I asked you, on behalf of the Council, to considered _our_ proposal"

The fat man ended his ever grand speech and sat down. The room muttered in silence acceptance. Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, his suspicion was true.

"You had working on this behind my back? You, all of you, had agreed to this…proposal without my consent, my knowledge in it?" He said and looked around the room.

"What were you thinking? Surrendering to the enemy that has done nothing else but destroying us, humiliating us for the last three years? If I agree to this, how can I answer to our ancestors and the shinobis that were, and currently, sacrifice their lives for this village and country?"

"And how can you answer to thousands of thousands that died for nothing!" A civilian shouted from the back of the room.

At this point the room fell into a dread silence. Some shinobis hid their eyes or hung their heads down, some of them-Hyuga and Uchiha among others-looked at him straight to his eyes as if challenging him to turn down their proposal.

As if to destroy more of his already damaged respect to this village. Koharu, his former teammate now his advisor spoke without any hesitation.

"Sarutobi, it's useless to fight against the Cloud, you know it, and we know it. Many of our shinobis have died, shinobis that should be at the frontline against the Stone and the Mist but instead they have to fight this useless, strategic worthless war that have consumed our resources more than the last two wars combined. The war now is in stalemate but it won't last. We have to do this while we can have it on our term. Accept this proposal, Sarutobi, we have argued enough about this. Let's not waste valuable time. We need your support for this"

_No, you just need my signature_. Sarutobi thought grimly but against all these odds, he understood them. He understood their thought, their fear, and their desperation. Since the war had started, there were no more trades, no more goods from the Lightning's factories. Their Northern Plain, one of their main breadbaskets, had been under the Cloud occupation almost from the beginning of the war and the major food and supplies shortage were now spreading like plague.

But he couldn't see why they should do this. The Leaf village, and effectively the Fire Country, had always maintaining their prosperity, prestige and balance of power on the strong and powerful military presence. To just stop fighting the Cloud, even if they somehow could defeat the Stone and the Mist, would be the showing of weakness, and he couldn't predict what would happened after that. He wanted, needed, his village to be strong, if not for these peoples, then for the Naruto for his own sake to be able to grow up and make his father proud.

Sarutobi clenched his fists. His power was not at it once had been. He always knew that he was a compromised figure after the Fourth's death and the disarray that it had caused. After some shinobis- mostly that always important Uchiha- figured that they should do something to teach the Lightning country a lesson or two about neutrality and ending the flow of supplies to and fro the Stone and the Mist through that said neutral country by invading their territory and to the top of that, they had successfully damaged the Lightning's prized Grand Canal. Way to go, Uchiha.

If they're not killed by the Cloud shinobis then, I would lynch them myself, he thought. He'd tried, he'd plead, even called a bluff but it's always came down to one fact. The Lightning had demanded for too much and he could offer too little.

The rest? His newly reestablished and still fragile power and prestige were slowly destroyed.

Consequences? Looked at Uzumaki Naruto and his currently situation and you could get a picture.

How he hated these peoples so much but still love this village to his heart, but he felt tired, tired at all of this. Sarutobi grabbed a pen and signed on the paper in front of him. If the Cloud did taking advantage of this scheme, which he's quite sure they would, these peoples would be blamed and he could regain some of his power and influence.

Served them right, he thought coldly and without any sympathy.

Cloud Village, Northern Sakumo Valley, Shinobi Continent

Cold rain was heavily pouring down on the Cloud village, officially the Hidden Village in the Cloud, but no one had bothered to use that name for decades, making all those humble humans down the heaven to run and seek shelter from the cold shower of the country's cold, harsh coming winter. Embraced between the high mountain ranges that made of the most of the Lightning country, the Cloud village looked like a view from another world with buildings' lights and bulletins flickering thought the raining night with high mountains with rain clouds flew past their tops constantly in the background.

In the exception, of course, was the military sector of the village, which separated itself, intentionally or not, from other parts of the village. In the night, it looked even more darkly and stiffly than in the daytime, maintaining the atmosphere of discipline side of it's inhabitants, as if it's Spartan styled structures weren't enough. Except from street lights and a handful of significant building, the Barrack, the sector's nickname, was totally out of lights and human. Tonight, however, the most important building of the Barrack was still shining through the dark district. The conference room of the Central Office was still lit and full of peoples, discussing and planning for their village, their country and most importantly, for themselves.

Shinohara Kenshiro thought that he shouldn't be at this place, being the only Samurai in the room full of the inner circle of the military faction of the Lightning country. He thought it was odd, having the country equally divided between the civilian and the military, but he kept it only to himself. Who know what would happen if he dare to speak it out loud? Being the son of their most powerful Samurai ally would mean nothing for them, he's sure of that. He's not the heir and didn't have the talent to make him different from his brothers, which brought him to this place.

A diplomat personnel to our ally, his father'd assured him, a polite way to say that he was just a messenger, a job even his servant could do. Surely, for his father, explaining the situation on the continent to his father's powerful ally across the White Ocean was something he couldn't fucked up.

It's not fair, he thought. He could fight, he could prove that he was worth a dame but his father just won't thrust him. No, his father just doted on his second son, now the heir, once he was done with his grief over his eldest son's unfortunate death and still ignore him all along.

At least that wretched Kensato was death, that arrogant, shithead, assface bastard. He took the news with joy and hoped his dear older brother would be burned eternally in the flame of hell. That was one of the best thing that'd happened in his life.

Well, back on his worst part. What did his father thinking when he was making a deal with this _Gaijin_? Shinobi gaijin for all sake! His father's advisors were right, Gaijin are always worthless and inferior. If only his father would listened to them, to him.

At least they're rich. Not just rich but very, very rich. That's why his father make a deal with this people. Money for weapons and supplies, Shinobi for hire, all of this using Gaijin money all along. If only this people would just be grateful as they should be, shut their mouth and happy that his father accept their proposal. No, they were troublesome, always asking his father annoying questions about their…..investment. An annoying and degrading job his father send him to do.

How fair our troops we send for you doing?

How long do you think the– endless name-battle will last?

How much money do you saying, what?

What did you say about enemy clans?

What kind of weapon you say again?

How much troop do you want?

How can you pay for them again?

Did we tell you we're fighting a war against that Konosa or whatever shinobi?

When will you pay back the loan?

Questions, endless questions. Questions he has to answer. Such a nice day to do this job. Sitting with these weirdoes, answering their gruesome curiosity, but at least that girl was staring at him with smile pestered on her face. At least he would get something out of this boring scheme. He wondered, until another gruesome question required his attention.

"Well, how was that battle going, what's that place name again? Oh yes! Shohonmaru. How's it going?"

A man sitting beside that old, grumpy Raikaigo or something said. What's his name again? Ah, yes! Fumimaro Raito, a man who held some high rank in this country of which he didn't care at all.

"Ah..yes, Fumimaro-san. The battle is going on well, my father's..sorry, our troops are crushing their retreat line right now and it will be only the matter of time before the enemy will be trapped at Shohonmaru City, which your ships will be ready to shell them along with their last base and the war will be over"

'_At least for now, wait until we crush you, infidel'_, he thought.

"Is it…" The old Raikage tried to say something but was cut off by Raito.

"But how about the problems in the enemy territories? Our commissioner there said that there were…uprisings there"

"There were no such things that we can't handle" Kenshiro snapped, feeling a bit annoy by this people right now. If he would just pay more attention he should notice something interesting had happened or was about to happen in the inner circle of this country but alas, he wasn't the one to pay attention to anything.

So far, for him, the meeting was going on well, aside from the old Raikage who looked a bit strangely shaken, nothing was wrong. He did his job and then said goodbye to everyone, and go off with that girl. For some reason he didn't want to know, he didn't want to be in the same room with that Fumimaro fellow. The man made him feel creepy!

If Raito felt offended by Kenshiro's snap and action, he said nothing about it. In truth he didn't care about that samurai at all, after all, that man couldn't survive the night, not with that bitch that was Tsubaki's secretary share it with him. Now, he has more important thing to do than to give some attention for that man.

As it would be known, it would take three days before Kenshiro met daylight once again. And his presence won't be a pretty site to watch at. Three MPs would tell you that.

"Really, sir, I didn't want to know what happened to this man but all I can tell you is that he has been here for at least two days" A young MP said to Iesawa Hiroshi. He didn't know why he should tell this to an Anbu but his boss said that it was from somewhere high so he shut his mouth and tell him anyway.

Really, who want to be the centre of attention at this moment?

Iesawa looked at the copse and share the same thought with the young MP. Who could know that katana could do something like that?

"You know what to do. It's Code-17" He spoke nonchalantly. The MP looked bewildered, he didn't know it was from surprise or from the fact that it was an Anbu that ordering him, and he didn't care a bit.

"Code-17? Sir, but…"

"I said Code-17" Iesawa said sharply, giving no chance of any argument. Young MP grumbled a bit but he did what he was told to do. If anything the man here was a commander and he was just a low rank MP, no matter that he was MP and the man was Anbu. Order was still an order, he didn't dare to define it.

Iesawa peered his eyes to the copse once, use his left foot to inspect the body just a bit and walked away, letting the MP carried out his order.

With almost 6'7 height and a worthy notable skill and gusto to go down with it, Iesawa had carried and held a lot of reputations, respect and high rank along with him. Surely, his rank as the Chief of Anbu Regular Division would say something about it. His recently post as the temporary commander of the Expedition Forces (Group South) was an astonishing success, particularly when the 2nd, 3rd and 7th Battalion Divisions, along with the southern division of the Central Interrogation Unit didn't make any protest as many in the village had expected, although the Central Committee may had gotten annoyed when he has made protests when they pulled some of his troops for their investment in the Samurai Continent. Evermore so that he was too aggressive to their liking. Oh sure, they would be happy to burn the cursed Konoha to the ground, he and the Raikage had shared the same thought about it but then, it wasn't that the Raikage would have a freehand in this matter. The Central Committee didn't share the same ideal with them and with that, they had not long ago ruled out the outright invasion and concentrate on holding the line in the occupied Northern Plain and bleeding the Konoha white.

'_Chaps care for their money than revenge' _he thought. For him, and the people of the Lightning country at large, the hatred for their southern counterparts had been immense and deep and the attack on Grand Canal has made it deeper. In it, Konoha and the Fire country had always been there, the centre of its all. Always with their pride, their value and never miss a chance to looked down on them but still ignored how powerful their former victim had become.

But now, Konoha had become important, if you could use that word. Konoha was the reason he had to go south and now was the reason he had to come back here. The former was, of course, the Canal Incident. Propaganda Ministry had some wild days after that. The Daimyo and his ministers were happy to push the trade sanction without some difficulties from the industries, just to make more money from the tariffs more than some stupid ideal, he suspected. His village too had been happy to flex its muscles even more. Everyone was happy. After all, this war with Konoha had opened many opportunities for them, from the new and larger test field for many researches to the bigger training field for their shinobis, not to mention some revenge courses made. All in all, they just happy to let the Konoha took some whipping and suffering before burned it to the ground.

However, the latter event was more important. While Raikage-sama and he and many others would just let the war turn into a slaughter feast, the Daimyo and many others did not happy about it. Many which of them that had already invest in the Samurai War to be specific. He knew, he knew that they were growing stronger each day the war drag on and with more and more troops pulled from his command to that continent. Finally, the Southern Folly, as the Propaganda Ministry now called it, had grinded into a stalemate. A fucking stalemate that made him deeply irritated.

The peak of it had come three days ago. Two shaken Konoha shinobis had been presented to him. They declared that they had come with the generous proposal for peace from their village. That if that his country would accept it, they will honored it by taking the signing ceremony in their village. He had taken many minutes later explained, after he'd killed one of them that actually _demanded _that the Raikage come to talk to them personally, that his country didn't work that way. That their message must go through many security measures after which it must be considered by the Central Committee which his Raikage was the head of it and they must also consulted it with the Diamyo government and then if they reach any result, it must go down through the command structure before it will reach him.

It did reach him, yes, yesterday, it did reach him. That's why he here, by the joint order of the committee. Something was wrong; something must had happened here, he was sure of that. Nothing was wrong with the transmission though, it was the order that rang home his alert signal.

By the joint order of the Central Committee. Stop. To Commander of the Expedition Forces (Group South). Stop. You are relief from your post. Stop. Report immediately to the committee. End Transmission. Code 746/85/473

He clenched the transmission paper in his hand. This wasn't right, Raikage-sama would never relief him from that post unless something had happened. Once he'd arrived at the station, instead of going straight to the Central Office, he had to issue some order to that MP's case which was weird since he or any Anbu held no authority over this kind of affair.

He's dreaded all this time and he knew it. Every single nerve in his body was screamed at him to go and find out what exactly had happened but he wasn't the type to disobey a direct order. The White Fang may had been portrayed in Konoha as the hero who save his comrade. But that was their way, not his. No, doing something like that in this country would only mean your death. It just simple like that, mission first, everything else is irrelevant.

Nothing must stand in the way of this country or the country will crush you to dust. The good ole virtue always held true to its word and he was good at keeping it or else he wouldn't go this far. Funny thing was, facing the enemies was one thing but facing the power play of this country was worse. He would be more happy fighting millions of southern infidels than fighting the wolf packs of the committees, at least he was sure of his shinobi skill not his political skill. One wrong move, one wrong hidden word and he could be sentenced to death. A one big disadvantage of being the high ranker. At least he could enjoyed his mission back when he was just a regular shinobi without worrying that his action would undermined his political capital. If he fell, they would tear him apart like jackals.


End file.
